Thujone is a component of the ethereal oil of the wormwood plant (artemisia absinthium).
It is extracted from wormwood herb during the making of absinthe, and it is contents of every absinthe.
Thujone is also a neurotoxin, that leads in higher doses on humans to convulsions, delusions and hallucinations.
The legend tells, that the absinthe of the end of 19th century has inspired many artists to great works. Among those boheminens, whose attitude towards life was characterized by easy going and decadence, were:
Vincent Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Charles Baudelaire, Charles Cros, Edgar Degas, Ernest Dowson, Paul Gauguin, Ernest Hemingway,Alfred Jarry, Henry de Toulouse–Lautrec, Edouart Manet, Pablo Picasso, Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Marie Verlaine, Voltaire, Emile Zola and surely many others.
Beyond controversy, all these great artists have set absinthe a topic of their work and dedicated own pieces of art to it.
In our days, the thujone contents of absinthe is - when enjoyed in moderation - not unhealthful nor does it cause hallucinations. Sooner the alcohol does. In spite of that, many sophisticates swear on the special something that only absinthe has, and that makes it different from other spirits.
A distinction is made between normal absinthes and bitter spirits, the first ones contain up to 10 mg/kg thujone, the last ones up to 35 mg/kg.
