Wormwood as a dietary supplement
Wormwood, scientifically known as Artemisia absinthium, is a plant that has been traditionally used as a dietary supplement for various health benefits. Most notably recognized as an ingredient in absinthe and vermouth, wormwood has a historical reputation for treating conditions like digestive issues, liver ailments, and joint pain. It is commonly used in herbal remedies targeting gastrointestinal problems such as Crohn's disease, dyspepsia, and irritable bowel syndrome, although scientific evidence supporting these uses is limited.
Recent studies, including a double-blind trial, suggest that wormwood may help alleviate symptoms of Crohn's disease, particularly when combined with tapering steroid treatments. However, further research is necessary to validate its efficacy across different conditions. The recommended dosage for wormwood typically involves taking 500 mg three times daily or consuming it as a tea.
While wormwood may offer some medicinal properties, it is also associated with potential toxicity due to the presence of thujone, prompting caution in its use. Long-term consumption and the use of wormwood essential oil are discouraged, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women. As with any supplement, it is advisable to consult a healthcare professional before use.
Wormwood as a dietary supplement
DEFINITION: Natural plant product used as a dietary supplement for specific health benefits.
PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USE: Crohn’s disease
OTHER PROPOSED USES: Dyspepsia, esophageal reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, parasites, reduce inflammation, treat pain, liver health, skin conditions, reduce fever
Overview
Artemisia absinthium, or common wormwood, is best known as an ingredient of the alcoholic beverage absinthe. Wormwood is also found in vermouth but at lower levels. Besides its common function as a flavoring, wormwood has a long medicinal use history. A reputed ability to kill intestinal worms gave rise to the herb’s name. Other traditional uses include treating liver problems, joint pain, digestive discomfort, loss of appetite, insomnia, epilepsy, and menstrual problems. The parts used medicinally are the leaves and flowers and the essential oil extracted from them. Common wormwood is a relative of sweet wormwood (A. annua), a source of the malaria drug artemisinin.
Uses and Applications
Wormwood is sometimes recommended for treating digestive conditions such as intestinal parasites, dyspepsia, esophageal reflux, and irritable bowel syndrome. It is also recommended for indigestion, bloating, and loss of appetite. However, no meaningful evidence indicates that it is effective for any of these conditions. Only double-blind, placebo-controlled studies can show a treatment effective, and only one has been performed using wormwood. This ten-week study conducted in Germany evaluated wormwood's potential benefits for treating people with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory condition of the intestines. All forty people enrolled in the study had achieved good control of their symptoms through the use of steroids and other medications. One-half were given an herbal blend containing wormwood (500 milligrams [mg] three times daily), while the other one-half was given an identical-appearing placebo. Researchers and study participants did not know who was receiving real treatment and who was not. Beginning at week two, researchers began a gradual tapering down of the steroid dosage used by participants. In subsequent weeks, most of those given a placebo showed the expected worsening of symptoms that the reduction of drug dosage would be expected to cause. In contrast, most of those receiving wormwood showed a gradual improvement of symptoms. No serious side effects were attributed to wormwood in this study.
These findings are extremely promising, but many treatments that show promise in a single study fail to hold up in subsequent independent testing. Further research is needed to establish wormwood as a helpful treatment for Crohn’s disease. Other proposed uses of wormwood have far weaker supporting evidence. Preliminary indications hint that wormwood essential oil (like many other essential oils) might have antifungal, antibacterial, and antiparasitic actions. Note, however, that this does not mean that wormwood oil is an antibiotic. Antibiotics can be taken internally to kill microorganisms throughout the body. Wormwood oil, rather, has shown potential antiseptic properties, but it also is potentially toxic. Other weak evidence hints that an alcohol extract of wormwood might have liver-protective actions.
In a 2016 double-blind, placebo-controlled study of wormwood for osteoarthritis, treatment with topical wormwood did show reduced pain and improved function in people with osteoarthritis of the knee. Small-scale studies have looked into the effectiveness of wormwood on dyspepsia and irritable bowel disease, but more studies are needed.
Dosage
In the foregoing study on Crohn's disease, wormwood was taken at a dose of 500 mg three times daily. A typical traditional dose of wormwood is three cups daily of a tea made by steeping 2.5 to 5 grams of wormwood in hot water. Wormwood essential oil should not be used. One should not attempt long-term use (more than four weeks) of any form of wormwood except under physician supervision.
Safety Issues
There are many unsolved questions about the toxicity of wormwood. When absinthe was popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a mental disorder known as absinthism, which involved hallucinations, tremors, vertigo, sleeplessness, and seizures, was associated with it. Wormwood contains thujone, a substance thought to be toxic to nerves when taken at high doses, and thujone has been proposed as a factor contributing to absinthism. However, the symptoms of absinthism are also consistent with mere chronic overuse of alcohol, and absinthe does not appear to contain sufficient thujone to cause harm. Furthermore, animal studies have generally failed to find significant toxicity with wormwood, even at relatively high doses.
Despite the absence of firm evidence, wormwood is still considered a potentially toxic herb, especially if taken over the long term. Wormwood essential oil, which contains thujone at much higher levels than those found in absinthe, should be avoided. Wormwood should not be used by young children, pregnant or nursing women, or people with severe liver or kidney disease.
Bibliography
Batiha, G.E., Olatunde, A., El-Mleeh. A., "Bioactive Compounds, Pharmacological Actions, and Pharmacokinetics of Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)." Antibiotics, vol. 9, no. 6, 2020, p. 353, doi:10.3390/antibiotics906035332585887.
Curtis, Lindsay. "Wormwood: Benefits, Risks, and Side Effects." Verywell Health, 19 Apr. 2023, www.verywellhealth.com/wormwood-5082001. Accessed 15 Sept. 2024.
Kordali, S., et al. "Screening of Chemical Composition and Antifungal and Antioxidant Activities of the Essential Oils from Three Turkish Artemisia Species." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 53, 2005, pp. 1408-1416.
Lachenmeier, D. W. "Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.): A Curious Plant with Both Neurotoxic and Neuroprotective Properties?" Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 131, 2010, pp. 224-227.
"Wormwood." Drugs, 21 June 2024, www.drugs.com/npp/wormwood.html. Accessed Sept. 2024.
Omer, B., et al. "Steroid-sparing Effect of Wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium) in Crohn's Disease: A Double-blind Placebo-controlled Study." Phytomedicine, vol. 14, no. 2-3, 2007, pp. 87-95, doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2007.01.001. Accessed 15 Sept. 2024.