Wormwood absolute

Bitter dark green herb with a camphoraceous edge. Dry leaf and root facets. A dark base, faintly sweet like herbs steeped in spirit.

Thujone (α- and β-thujone) is restricted by IFRA (2020) per product category. Thujone content in wormwood depends on chemotype, from very low to very high. The amount of absolute used must be calculated from the measured thujone content of the lot.

In the EU, flavourings Regulation 1334/2008 limits thujone in alcoholic beverages made from Artemisia species. Wormwood is not named in the EU fragrance allergen list.

Plants of the daisy family contain sesquiterpene lactones, documented as a cause of sensitisation in people already sensitised to Asteraceae. Store dark, sealed and cool.

Artemisia absinthium is a perennial herb with silver-grey, divided leaves, native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It is best known through absinthe, a spirit popular in late 19th century France. Absinthe was banned in France in 1915 and later allowed again in the EU with thujone limits.

Wormwood oil composition varies strongly by chemotype. Some types are rich in β-thujone; others have almost no thujone and are rich in sabinyl acetate, cis-epoxyocimene or chrysanthenyl acetate. The plant's bitterness comes from absinthin, a non-volatile lactone.

The absolute is made by extracting leaves and flowering tops with a solvent to a concrete, then washing with ethanol, chilling, filtering and removing the alcohol. It is dark green and keeps a bitter, darker herbal tone than the oil.

In perfumery, wormwood absolute is a minor material. It gives a bitter green note for chypres, fougères and herbal structures. It links well with lavender, clary sage, oakmoss and woody notes.

Thujone is the main reason for the limits. Knowing the chemotype and thujone content of the lot is a condition for using this material in a formula.