Wormwood

Scientific Name(s): Artemisia absinthium L.
Common Name(s): Absinthe, Absinthites, Absinthium, Aci pelin, Ajenjo, Ak pelin, Armoise, Buyuk pelin, Pelin otu, Vilayati afsanteen, Wermut, Wormwood

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Dec 13, 2021.

Clinical Overview

Use

Wormwood was traditionally used to treat worm infestations, although no clinical data support this use. Anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and chemotherapeutic activity are documented in nonhuman studies. Initial studies suggest that wormwood may improve Crohn disease symptoms, but information regarding the plant's use in immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy is limited. In Germany, woodworm is used to treat loss of appetite, dyspepsia, and biliary dyskinesia. Wormwood is also used as a flavoring agent.

Dosing

Wormwood is commercially available as an essential oil, as well as in capsule, tablet, tincture, and aqueous extract dosage forms. However, no recent clinical evidence supports dosing recommendations. Traditional use of the herb for treating dyspepsia was dosed as an infusion of 2 to 3 g daily.

Contraindications

Avoid use with hypersensitivity to any of the components of wormwood, particularly the essential oil. It may be contraindicated in patients with an underlying defect of hepatic heme synthesis, because thujone is a porphyrogenic terpenoid.

Pregnancy/Lactation

Avoid use. Documented abortifacient and emmenagogue effects.

Interactions

A single case report suggests that wormwood may increase the international normalized ratio (INR) with warfarin.

Adverse Reactions

The volatile oil thujone in wormwood produces a state of excitement and is a powerful convulsant. Repeated ingestion of wormwood may result in absinthism, a syndrome characterized by digestive disorders, thirst, restlessness, vertigo, trembling of the limbs, numbness of the extremities, loss of intellect, delirium, paralysis, and death.

Toxicology

Wormwood is classified as an unsafe herb by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because of the neurotoxic potential of thujone and its derivatives; it is generally regarded as safe if it is thujone free. The safety of wormwood is poorly documented despite its long history as a food additive. Convulsions, dermatitis, and renal failure have been reported.

Scientific Family

• Asteraceae (daisy)

Botany

Wormwood is an odorous, perennial shrub native to Europe and naturalized in the northeastern, central, and northwestern United States. Its aromatic leaves have a strong sage odor and bitter taste, and its multibranched stems are covered with fine, silky hairs. The plant has a fibrous root system and grows to about 1.2 m tall. Its small flowers, which bloom July through August, are green to yellow and arranged in large, spikelike panicles. The deeply lobed leaves are grayish-green in color. Leaves and small stems no thicker than 4 mm are used medicinally.1, 2, 3, 4

History

The name "wormwood" is derived from ancient use of the plant and its extracts as an intestinal anthelmintic. In Pakistan's indigenous medicinal systems, the leaves and flowering tops are used as an anthelmintic, antiseptic, febrifuge, and stomachic, and to alleviate chronic fever, dyspepsia, and hepatobiliary ailments. An ethobotanical study in Turkey documented the plant's use as an abortifacient, as a blood depurative, and in treating stomachaches. Caribbean folk medicine documents wormwood use for menstrual pain, vaginitis, and other unspecified female complaints.5 Extracts of the plant are used ...