Wormwood

Wormwood Artemisia absinthium, is a perennial herb up to 1.5 metres high with a whitish stem, silvery-green, divided leaves covered in silky fine hairs, and pale yellow flowers. It belongs to Asteraceae family.

It is extensively cultivated in central and southern Europe, North Africa and the USA, where the oil is mainly produced.

Essential oil is obtained by steam distillation of the leaves and flowering tops. It is a dark green oil or bluish oil with a spicy, warm, bitter-green odour and a sharp, fresh top note. Its principal constituents are thujone (up to 71%), azulenes and terpenes.

An absolute is occasionally produced by solvent extraction.

Is widely employed (at minute levels) as a flavouring agent in alcoholic bottleds and vermounths; also to a lesser extent in soft drinks and some foods, especially confectionery and desserts.