What effect does wormwood have?
As a medicinal plant, wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) has been valued since ancient times. Together with two other Artemisia species (mugwort and rue), it was one of the most important medicinal plants in ancient medicine.
In the 19th century, absinthe, an alcoholic drink containing extracts of wormwood, lemon balm and other plants, was very popular. Artists such as Vincent van Gogh were addicted to the psychoactive fashion drug. Absinthe, however, can cause serious damage, especially with prolonged consumption. These include nerve damage, gastrointestinal problems, mental illness and even suicide.
Medically recognized wormwood is used for:
- loss of appetite
- dyspeptic complaints, i.e. upper abdominal complaints such as a feeling of fullness, mild gastrointestinal cramps, heartburn, flatulence and nausea
Folk medicine still uses wormwood for other complaints and diseases such as gastritis, anemia, irregular or too weak menstruation and worm infestation.
Wormwood is usually taken as an extract or tea.
How is wormwood used?
There are several ways to use wormwood as a medicinal plant.
Wormwood as a tea
Wormwood tea is quite bitter tasting, but has healing properties: pour a cup of hot water over a quarter to a whole teaspoon (1 teaspoon = 1.5 grams) of chopped wormwood herb, cover and let the infusion steep for three to seven minutes, then strain off the plant parts.
- four to nine years: 1 to 1.5 grams
- ten to 15 years: 1.5 to 3 grams
Bitter wormwood tea is not suitable for children under four years of age.
Home remedies based on medicinal plants have their limitations. If your symptoms persist for a long time, do not improve or even get worse despite treatment, you should always consult a doctor.
Wormwood in aromatherapy
Wormwood essential oil can, among other things, damage nerves (neurotoxic effect), cause seizures (epileptic effect) and cause miscarriage in pregnant women (abortive effect). It is also irritating to the skin and may cause burns. Therefore, wormwood oil should be used, if at all, only by experienced aromatherapists!
Ready-made preparations with wormwood
Some people prefer a liquid extract (fluid extract) of wormwood herb or wormwood drops instead of a tea. Such bitter preparations are also available on the basis of several medicinal plants – in addition to wormwood, they may contain dandelion, centaury and/or angelica root, for example.
Your pharmacist or doctor will advise you on choosing the right preparation and inform you about the correct dosage and application.
What side effects can wormwood cause?
However, overdose may cause side effects such as vomiting, gastrointestinal cramps, drowsiness and headache. The reason is the nerve poison thujone.
What you should consider when using wormwood
- If you are allergic to daisy plants such as mugwort and arnica, do not use wormwood.
- People with liver diseases and (dry) alcoholics should not take alcoholic wormwood preparations.
- With wormwood tea and tincture in the recommended dosage, you do not supply the body with thujone in a toxic dose. Nevertheless, as a precaution, you should not use the medicinal plant internally for longer than a maximum of two weeks or strictly adhere to the instructions for use given by your doctor or pharmacist.
- Wormwood may decrease the effectiveness of anti-seizure medications.
- Wormwood may increase the risk of kidney failure.
How to obtain wormwood products
You can obtain the dried wormwood herb as well as finished preparations based on wormwood such as drops in pharmacies and sometimes also in drugstores.
For the correct use of wormwood, please refer to the respective package information and ask your doctor or pharmacist.
What is wormwood?
Its erect stem is gray-felted hairy and branched in the upper part. It bears two- to three-pinnate leaves, which are also white-silky haired on both sides. The yellow, globular flower heads are arranged in erect panicles. If you rub the flowers or leaves between your fingers, they give off a strong aromatic smell, which comes from the essential oil they contain.
