Harvey W. Wiley, M.D., "Beverages and Their Adulteration"

Beverages and Their Adulteration
by
Harvey W. Wilery, M.D.,
1919

ABSINTHE

Definition.--Absinth is an alcoholic liqueur which takes its name from the botanical name of wormwood, Artemisia Absinthium. This is a perennial plant which is indigenous to Europe and North Africa. It is cultivated to some extent in the United States in limited localities in New York, Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The dried leaves and flowering tops of the plant are used for the extraction of the drug. The active principle is a volatile oil, of which the leaves and dried flowering tops contain about 0.5 of 1 percent. The oil is of a dark blue or greenish color, has a bitter lasting taste, and consists essentially of a substance known as absinthol in various forms of combination. There is also a bitter principle, probably a glucoside, which is known as absinthin. Absinth is of a most seductive character, and its victims are as helpless almost as those addicted to the alcohol or opium habit. The continued drinking of considerable quantities of absinthe seems to break down the morale, sometimes paralyzing, or deranging digestion and general health, and reducing the victim to complete subjugation. The victims of absinthe are more to be pitied, as a rule, than those of alcohol, opium, or cocain.

Kinds of Absinth.--As liquers, the extracts of absinth are divided into four classes, namely, ordinary absinths, demi-fin absinths, fine absinths, and Swiss absinths. The latter are sub-divided into absinths of Pontarlier, or Montpelier and of Lyon.

Ordinary absinths are the kind only in Paris and other large cities. They are generally manufactured, as are the demi-fine absinths and the fine absinths, by the rectifiers. Ordinary absinthe is represented by the following formula:

Clean and dry ground absinth...2.5 kilograms
Dry hyssop...500.0 grams
Dry citronated balm-mint...500.0 grams
Green anise...2.0 kilograms
85 percent alcohol...16.0 liters

These ingredients are infused for 24 hours in a suitable vessel, 15 liters of water are added, and distilled until 15 liters of the product are secured. To this 15 liters are added 40 liters of 85 percent alcohol and 45 liters of water. The product amounts to 100 liters with an alcoholic strength of 46°. It is mixed and allowed to stand until clear. Filtration is not necessary in the manufacture of absinths. After standing for 48 hours they clarify themselves.

Extracts of Swiss absinth do not necessarily imply that they are made in Switzerland but that they are made in that part of France to the south and east near Switzerland. They are manufactured particularly in large quantities in the cities of Pontarlier, Montpelier and Lyon.

Different flavoring and coloring materials are used in different liquids, but the absinth remains the principal ingredient.

Adulterations.--Absinths of bad quality are often made, some of them manufactured without distillation and with essences to replace the plants and seeds which are used in the genuine process. There are others which are distilled with crude alcohol of beets, the taste of which leaves much to be desired. Other absinths are made by adding aromatic resins after distillation.

Absinth and the War.--On the breaking out of hostilities in Europe all the nations engaged in the conflict sought to increase the efficiency of their citizens in every possible way. The French Republic realized that the use of absinthe was undermining the character and endurance of her citizens. Instead of any longer trying to regulate the sale of absinth, it was decided by the authorities of the republic to ask for its entire prohibition. This prohibition was established by the law which became effective on the sixteenth of March, 1915. This law has the following provision: "The manufacture, the sale, wholesale and retail, as well as the commerce in absinth and liqueurs similar thereto are forbidden." This law has been sustained by the courts, which have held that not only is the sale interdicted, but that the person who does sell is penally responsible for all damages arising therefrom. In like manner the prohibition of the sale of distilled beverages at retail in the saloons where beverages are dispensed has been upheld by the courts, maintaining that such a regulation, made with a view of securing and maintaining good public order, is legally admitted to the circle of those exercises of authority on the part of the prefects as well as by the military authority in places where martial law has been declared. The manufacture and sale of absinth has long been prohibited in Switzerland and Belgium. In Switzerland the question of prohibiting absinth was submitted to a plebecite and was adopted by a large majority.

Absinthe Poisoning.--The symptoms which attend the excessive or prolonged drinking of absinth are extremely revolting. The effects which the patient undergoes are perhaps more pronounced than in the case of addiction to the use of alcohol, opium, or cocain. The physical and mental deterioration goes on much more quickly in the case of absinth poisoning than in the case of the use of alcohol, and the disease maintains its characteristic symptoms, which are marked principally by epileptoid attacks, and by delerium and hallucinations, followed by specific paralysis of the lower extremities. Absinthe is regarded as the most injurious and dangerous of the alcoholic concoctions which are commonly used as a drink among the people.

Action of French Academy of Medicine.--The whole subject of essences was studied by the French Academy of Medicin, and they were divided into two chief classes.

First, these essences which present a character particularly noxious; these being subjects of the absolute prescription.

Second, those of a relatively inferior degree of toxitiy, of which the use may become dangerous, and, therefore, they are subjects of special regulation.

Among the essences which should be excluded from beverages entirely, according to the report of the Academy of Medicine, are the following:

• Grand absinth.
• Small absinthe
• Badiane.
• Angustura.
• Queen of the Meadow.
• Salicylic aldehyde.
• Oil of Wintergreen.
• Mythl salicylate.
• Stones of fruit containing benzoic aldehyde and prussic acid, such as bitter almonds.
• Rue.

The French Academy of Medicine makes the following comment no the first category:

"This category comprises the principal essences entering into the fundamental composition of liqueurs, especially those which are so commonly advertised as aperitifs (appetizers); they constitue the most dangerous class of beverages, and at the same time are those which predominate in habitual consumption. It is sufficient to place at the head of th elist of these essences, the one that merits the position in every respect, but especially by its superior toxicity and characteristics, namely absinth."

Composition.--Chemically, essence of absinth is a complex product, composed, first of a hydrocarbon analogous to the essence of terbinthine; second, of a bluish oil, and third, of a hydrocarbon absinthol isomeric with camphor. These three elements vary in quantity with the place of origin and the period of the harvest of the plant.

With its varying composition the toxicity of absinth also varies. In some cases the distinctive features of absinth poisoning seem almost absent. Animals on which experiments have been made, most frequently die after a series of attacks, or they die subsequent to the symptoms altogether, from lung troubles, which probably are produced by the irritating action of the essences, or they sometimes die as a result of embolism in the capillaries of the lungs.

As has been intimated before, however, it is not the essence of absinth alone to which the bad effects, especially of the epileptoid form, can be attributed. The other essences which are combined with absinthe in the drink are also culpable.

Cautions in Prescribing Absinth Extracts for Invalids.--Physicians should be careful to avoid prescribing absinth and its allied essences in cases of persons whose nervous excitability is already near the breaking point, and who possess dedided irritability. These are the kinds of drinkers who too often serve as subjects of observation, and upon whom the epileptic attack has been noticed after the drinking of the absinth liqueur. To such fragile beings it is necessary for the physician to forbid absolutely not only the use of absinth, but of all the substances which belong to the epileptogenic group, which are more widely distributed and more important than has generally been supposed.

Among this group may be mentioned Hyssop, Rosemary, Fennel, and a variety of Sage. The essence of sage is often more toxic than essence of absinthe, according to some authors.

The following table shows the quantity of the different substances which are required to produce convulsions in animals, the quantity being for each kilogram of weight:

• Essence of sage...10 milligrams
• Essence of absinth...25 milligrams
• Essence of hyssop...31 milligrams
• Essence of Rosemary...62 milligrams
• Essence of fennel...85 milligrams

Some of the Results of the Habitual Use of Absinth.--The habitual use of absinth determines a series of disorders in addition to those already described, of which some are like those of ordinary alcoholism, while others differ therefrom either in degree or nature.

All the symptoms of absinthism are correlated directly or indirectly with the nervous system. The character of suffering from absinth poisoning is distinguished by its impressionability and by a succession or mixture of irritability and sadness. The dreams of those suffering from absinthism are similar to those afflicted with alcoholism, but more terrible, if that is possible. The hallucinations of vision and of hearing are much more frequent in absinthism than in alcoholism. Absinth delerium does not differ greatly from alcohol delerium, since it is produced from a similar cause. The most characteristic symptoms of absinthism, in addition to the epileptiform convulsions, are the phenomena of depression and sadness, either spontaneous or provoked.

More often than in alcoholism, absinthism produces a feebleness of the members of the body, approaching almost veritable paralysis. General convulsions are symptomatic of acute absinthism. They are not, however, observed so generally in chronic absinthism, unless there should be developed some lesion of the brain.

The digestive troubles in absinthism are analogous to those of alcoholism, but less pronounced.

Those who are afflicted with absinth poisoning are peculiarly susceptible to the ravages of tuberculosis, and invariably die if the disease is contracted. It is very unusual that any one addicted to the use of absinthe lives to be 60 years of age. There seems to be in absinthism, as in alcoholism, a premature condition of old age established; that is, the precipitation of the albuminous contents of the original cells. In other words, a hardening and segregation of the protoplasm.

This array of symptoms is certainly one that is large enough to deter any one from becoming a victim of chronic absinthism.

Fortunately, the absinth habit has not gained any great vogue in the United States, and it is hoped that before such an unfortunate state of affairs as existed in France arrives, there may be such a rigid control of traffic in absinth as to amount to prohibition.