| Belle Epoque Era Scientific Papers on Absinthe and Absinthism |
Fatal Case from an Overdose of Oil of Sage
by Henry Whitling
Published in The Lancet, 1908
by Henry Whitling
Published in The Lancet, 1908
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Describes what is possibly the only example in the scientific literature of death by acute thujone poisoning. The patient swallowed two
tablespoons of sage oil and despite receiving prompt medical attention and having her stomach pumped, died shortly afterwards. Sage
oil is extremely rich in thujone, and although there are also other constituents (some of which are also poisonous), it's likely that thujone
was the primary cause of death here. It's noticeable that although she suffered epileptiform convulsions - typically seen also when
laboratory animals receive extremely high thujone doses - there is no mention of the patient suffering any hallucinations, sensory
distortions, or other narcotic-like effects. In other words, it appears that even a dose of thujone high enough to be fatal does not
necessarily cause any "secondary effects".
tablespoons of sage oil and despite receiving prompt medical attention and having her stomach pumped, died shortly afterwards. Sage
oil is extremely rich in thujone, and although there are also other constituents (some of which are also poisonous), it's likely that thujone
was the primary cause of death here. It's noticeable that although she suffered epileptiform convulsions - typically seen also when
laboratory animals receive extremely high thujone doses - there is no mention of the patient suffering any hallucinations, sensory
distortions, or other narcotic-like effects. In other words, it appears that even a dose of thujone high enough to be fatal does not
necessarily cause any "secondary effects".
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| Update 1st March 2008: Our new facsimile of the Duplais distillation guide, the "Bible" of absinthe distillation, is now available. |
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