On the other hand, millions of French people enjoyed the occasional glass of absinthe after work without any ill effects. There should be no surprise at the correlation of absinthe drinking amongst the destitute and alcoholics, it was the cheapest way of buying strong alcohol. Magnan was preoccupied with the degeneration of the French race, which he blamed on alcohol and in particular, absinthe. He not only concluded that absinthe caused medical and psychological troubles not associated with the high consumption of alcohol, he argued that absintheâs deleterious effects were hereditary. However, it is now accepted that Magnanâs interpretations were oversimplified and alarmist. Magnan extended his studies to acute alcoholics and concluded that absinthe produced symptoms in humans that were distinct from alcoholic delirium tremens and manifest themselves as epileptic convulsions This purportedly shows that wormwood oil and alcohol produce a synergistic effect which leads to epileptiform convulsions. Experiments and observations on absinthe and absinthism. Comptus Rendu des Seances et Memoires de la Société de Biologie (Paris) 1869 5(4th series): 156-61) (Amory R. Epilepsie alcoolique action spéciale de l’absinthe: épilepsie absinthique. The first published evidence for absintheâs harmful effects in animals dates from the 1860s (Magnan V. So what is the published scientific evidence for the harm or benefits of absinthe? Wormwood has had a long history in folk medicine dating back as far as ancient Greece when it was variously prescribed for rheumatism, jaundice, menstrual pains and as an aid in child birth, but it only attracted scientific attention in the mid-19th century.Īt this time there was a powerful prohibitionist lobby gaining public attention throughout France and it should be noted that research was rarely totally independent and was conducted to support a particular position, for or against the banning of alcohol. Ordinaireâs recipe eventually found its way into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who established the Pernod fils dynasty when he opened his first distillery in 1805, and very soon âExtrait dâabsintheâ stopped being a local curiosity and started on its route to becoming a national phenomenon in France, and by the end of the 19th century it had been embraced by the Bourgeoisie and demi-monde alike with over 2 million litres being consumed annually in France. ![]() The origins of absinthe can be traced back to the end of the 18th century, when Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor, used wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) together with anise, fennel, hyssop and various other herbs distilled in an alcoholic base as a herbal remedy for his patients. Myth, Reality and Absinthe – The Truth about Thujone
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