Absinthe cures ulcers

I have a great Microbiology teacher, his name is Radu Popa and I'm enjoying his class quite a bit. He's Romanian, and therefore sounds a bit like Dracula when he lectures -- it's fantastic. Today, he went off about Absinthe and inspired me to post about this psychoactive liquor.

Did you know that Absinthe cured ulcers? It kills a bacteria called Heliobacter pylori which causes many types of ulcers (but not all). Now I am not, of course, suggesting you drown your ulcer in Absinthe when a simple treatment of antibiotics will even more effectively treat the same condition. [get that AMA -- I'm NOT suggesting that, for the record] But it's a cool fact nonetheless.

The active ingredients in Absinthe (at least those what make it fantastically, radioactively green, and gives it the characteristic bitter taste) are toxic in sufficient quantities. This is part (but not all) of why it gained such a stigma in Europe and in the U.S. When distilled improperly, it is quite toxic. The other reason it got such a bad reputation, according to Dr. Popa, was its competition. Vinters, brewers and distilleries made a conscious attempt to smear the reputation of Absinthe. The fact that lax producers produced a sometimes-toxic product made their job easy. Only recently has it seen a resurgence in popularity across Europe.

When distilled properly, Absinthe is purported to have psychoactive qualities. These are imparted by the use of "Wormwood" -- Artemesia absinthium in the recipie. The substance which most likely gives these effects is Thujone. Stepping aside from the science of it, I'll say that apparently the Thujone provides Cannibis-like effects. I could geek out for a whole post on the theories about how these effects are created, but I'll spare ya'll the physiology of it. The simple fact is, it's trippy stuff to ingest.

Absinthe has recently been legalized in the United Stated -- but there's a catch. Of course, the only Absinthe legally available in the U.S. has to be free of Thujone (or at least in concentrations of no more than 10 ppm -- which is for all practical purposed zero). Yep -- all the taste and look of the original but none of the psychoactive goodness. C'est La Vie -- maybe this will be one of those famous 'slippery slopes' and real absinthe will be available some day. There are, of course, ways around this law.

The Wife is pretty fascinated by Absinthe, so I don't expect this will be the last post on the subject. For now, however, I've got papers to do and people to write so I'd better get to it.

Enjoy your Thujone-free day,

Bp


[Absinthe graphic via Madame Talbot's website. If you like the graphic, kick down for one of their posters.]