Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

Also called Artemisia absinthium, common wormwood, absinthe wormwood, grand wormwood, Absinthii herba, wormwood herb.

Best grade C across 5 graded outcomes Botanical Last checked

The short answer

From 11 sources

Wormwood is a bitter herb that European regulators accept only as a traditional remedy for temporary appetite loss and mild indigestion. Human research is small: two Crohn's disease trials, a 10-person kidney study and two trials of a vaginal gel or cream. No trial tested it for parasites. Its thujone can cause seizures at high doses, so EMA caps daily thujone at 6 mg.

Every graded outcome on this page

5 rows · line = participants
  1. Grade CSexual satisfaction after menopause (vaginal cream)Sexual functionn 112
  2. Grade CSexual function and satisfaction (vaginal gel)Sexual functionn 76
  3. Grade DCrohn's disease activity while steroids were taperedCrohn's diseasen 40
  4. Grade DCrohn's disease activity and TNF-alphaCrohn's diseasen 20
  5. Grade DProtein in the urine in IgA nephropathyKidneyn 10
  6. 2 more graded outcomes, in the evidence chapter

Key facts

Regulatory status
EMA accepts wormwood herb as a traditional herbal medicine for temporary loss of appetite and mild dyspeptic or gastrointestinal complaints, in adults only12
Clinical evidence
EMA noted a lack of studies in patients with these complaints; its conclusions rest on long-standing use2
Human trials
Two oral Crohn's disease trials (40 and 20 patients) and one 10-patient kidney study from one author group, plus a small vaginal gel trial (76 women) and a vaginal cream trial (112 women)3451011
Thujone
Thujone blocks GABA-A receptors and causes dose-dependent seizures in animals; EMA requires daily thujone exposure below 6.0 mg and prefers low-thujone plant types178
Parasite claims
No human trial of Artemisia absinthium for intestinal parasites in our sources12

What it is

Wormwood is the dried leaves and flowering tops of Artemisia absinthium, a bitter daisy-family herb, not sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua).

How it works

Proposed

EMA considers the appetite use plausible because of wormwood's bitter components, which may stimulate the gut, and cites rat studies showing an anti-ulcer effect. A small Crohn's trial reported lower blood TNF-alpha with powdered wormwood.24

Forms, side by side

3 forms named in our sources. The rest show what our data holds, and say plainly where it holds nothing yet.

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) forms compared

3 forms
Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) forms compared: 3 forms by 3 attributes. Empty cells are labelled No data yet, or Not graded in the evidence row.
3 formsWormwood herb tea or powderWormwood tinctureWormwood vaginal gel or cream
Absorption in peopleNo human absorption data in our sources.1No human absorption data in our sources.1No absorption data in our sources.1011
GI toleranceEMA: no side effects known at the time of its assessment; not for use with Asteraceae allergy, bile duct obstruction or liver disease.1EMA requires ethanol labelling for tinctures and thujone exposure below 6.0 mg/day.1The trial abstracts do not report side-effect numbers.1011
Studied forTraditional use for appetite loss and mild indigestion; powdered herb in one small Crohn's trial.Traditional use only; no clinical trial in our sources.Sexual function and satisfaction in two 4-week trials (applied 3 times a week).
  1. Wormwood herb tea or powder
    Absorption in people
    No human absorption data in our sources.1
    GI tolerance
    EMA: no side effects known at the time of its assessment; not for use with Asteraceae allergy, bile duct obstruction or liver disease.1
    Studied for
    Traditional use for appetite loss and mild indigestion; powdered herb in one small Crohn's trial.
  2. Wormwood tincture
    Absorption in people
    No human absorption data in our sources.1
    GI tolerance
    EMA requires ethanol labelling for tinctures and thujone exposure below 6.0 mg/day.1
    Studied for
    Traditional use only; no clinical trial in our sources.
  3. Wormwood vaginal gel or cream
    Absorption in people
    No absorption data in our sources.1011
    GI tolerance
    The trial abstracts do not report side-effect numbers.1011
    Studied for
    Sexual function and satisfaction in two 4-week trials (applied 3 times a week).
Every cell holds data from a cited page; citation numbers link to the page that holds them.Scroll the table for every column

What the human research says

Human trials only, one row per outcome. The form line shows what each trial actually tested. Grades follow our evidence-grading policy.

Trial map

5 graded outcomes, largest study first

All 5 graded outcomes found an improvement. The largest, a 2024 randomized trial of 112 people on sexual satisfaction after menopause (vaginal cream), found an improvement.

1. Sexual satisfaction after menopause (vaginal cream): improved, 112 people12. Sexual function and satisfaction (vaginal gel): improved, 76 people23. Crohn's disease activity while steroids were tapered: improved, 40 people34. Crohn's disease activity and TNF-alpha: improved, 20 people45. Protein in the urine in IgA nephropathy: improved, 10 people5

1Sexual satisfaction after menopause (vaginal cream)

Improved · Grade C · RCT, 112 people, 2024

Postmenopausal women aged 45 to 65 (112 randomised)

Dose, result and source
Every graded outcome on this page, largest study first
OutcomeFoundPeopleStudyWho was studied
Sexual satisfaction after menopause (vaginal cream)Improved112Grade C · RCT, 2024Postmenopausal women aged 45 to 65 (112 randomised)
Sexual function and satisfaction (vaginal gel)Improved76Grade C · RCT, 2023Women aged 18 to 45 with sexual dysfunction and low sexual satisfaction (76 randomised, 38 per group)
Crohn's disease activity while steroids were taperedImproved40Grade D · RCT, 2007Adults with Crohn's disease on 40 mg/day prednisone-equivalent or less (5 German sites)
Crohn's disease activity and TNF-alphaImproved20Grade D · RCT, 2010Adults with active Crohn's disease (CDAI 200 or more) on stable therapy
Protein in the urine in IgA nephropathyImproved10Grade D · Open-label trial, 2010Adults with biopsy-proven IgA nephropathy and persistent proteinuria despite renin-angiotensin blockade
Each circle is one graded outcome on this page, numbered from the largest study down, and placed by how many people it studied (log scale). It shows who was studied and what was found, not advice about your dose.

Every graded row

5 rows

Showing 5 of 5 outcomes. Human trials only.

Grade CSexual satisfaction after menopause (vaginal cream)Sexual functionImprovedRCT
n 112 · 2024

Improved Sexual satisfaction scores were 75.3 on wormwood cream versus 72.8 on placebo, and sexual quality-of-life scores 83.0 versus 69.6 (p < 0.001).

Design
RCT, n = 112, 2024
Population
Postmenopausal women aged 45 to 65 (112 randomised)
Form
Wormwood vaginal cream
Dose
Applied 3 times a week
Duration
4 weeks
Source
Reference 11 · PubMed 39716229 (opens PubMed)
Grade CSexual function and satisfaction (vaginal gel)Sexual functionImprovedRCT
n 76 · 2023

Improved Female Sexual Function Index rose to 32.1 on wormwood gel versus 21.1 on placebo, and sexual satisfaction scores to 96.9 versus 75.9 (p < 0.0001).

Design
RCT, n = 76, 2023
Population
Women aged 18 to 45 with sexual dysfunction and low sexual satisfaction (76 randomised, 38 per group)
Form
Wormwood vaginal gel
Dose
Applied 3 times a week
Duration
4 weeks
Source
Reference 10 · PubMed 36368248 (opens PubMed)
Grade DCrohn's disease activity while steroids were taperedCrohn's diseaseRemission 65% vs 0%RCT
n 40 · 2007

Improved After 8 weeks, 13 of 20 (65%) on wormwood had near-complete remission vs none on placebo; steroids had to be restarted in 2 of 20 vs 16 of 20.

Design
RCT, n = 40, 2007
Population
Adults with Crohn's disease on 40 mg/day prednisone-equivalent or less (5 German sites)
Form
Herbal blend containing wormwood herb
Dose
500 mg three times daily
Duration
10 weeks, followed to week 20
Source
Reference 3 · PubMed 17240130 (opens PubMed)
Grade DCrohn's disease activity and TNF-alphaCrohn's diseaseRemission 8/10 vs 2/10RCT
n 20 · 2010

Improved Serum TNF-alpha fell from 24.5 to 8.0 pg/ml vs 25.7 to 21.1 in controls; 8 of 10 reached remission vs 2 of 10.

Design
RCT, n = 20, 2010
Population
Adults with active Crohn's disease (CDAI 200 or more) on stable therapy
Form
Dried powdered wormwood
Dose
750 mg three times daily
Duration
6 weeks
Source
Reference 4 · PubMed 19962291 (opens PubMed)
Grade DProtein in the urine in IgA nephropathyKidneyProteinuria 2,340 to 315 mg/gOpen-label trial
n 10 · 2010

Improved Urine protein-to-creatinine ratio fell from 2,340 to 315 mg/g, and mean arterial pressure fell moderately; kidney function was unchanged.

Design
Open-label trial, n = 10, 2010
Population
Adults with biopsy-proven IgA nephropathy and persistent proteinuria despite renin-angiotensin blockade
Form
Thujone-free wormwood preparation
Dose
1.8 g/day
Duration
6 months
Source
Reference 5 · PubMed 20843592 (opens PubMed)

What the numbers add up to

Each point is worked out from the data and the sources numbered on this page, with the arithmetic shown under it. It adds no new data and is not medical advice.

Traditional use, not trial evidence

EMA's acceptance of wormwood for appetite loss and mild indigestion rests on long-standing use; it found no studies in patients with these complaints.12

How we got this: EMA monograph and public summary

One research group

All three human studies come from the same small author group, and the larger Crohn's trial used a blend, so the results have not been independently tested.345

How we got this: Author lists and interventions of the cited studies

Studied doses

Doses used in research, shown against the official limits. They describe the studies, not a recommendation for you.

Studied doses in research, not advice. These are amounts used in research, not personal advice. Your clinician or pharmacist can say what fits you.

Doses studied in human trials

Doses studied in human trials ranged from 1.5 g/day of a wormwood-containing blend for 10 weeks to 2.25 g/day of powdered herb for 6 weeks, and 1.8 g/day of a thujone-free preparation for 6 months. EMA's traditional-use daily amount for tea is 2 to 3 g of dried herb.1345

Interactions and safety

Published interactions only: each row cites a source. No row means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe.

What Wormwood meets

1 cited row

Medicines 1

Wormwood1 medicine · 0 supplements

Supplements and foods 0

No supplement rows in our sources.

  • Reference summary
Rows as our evidence profiles cite them; links stay on this site. Line weight shows what backs a row, not how serious an interaction is. No line means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe. Not medical advice: ask your pharmacist.

Interactions

1 agent
Published interactions, grouped by kind
AgentWhat the source saysEvidence
Medicines1
Anti-seizure medicines (anticonvulsants)e.g. Benzodiazepines and other medicines acting on GABA-A receptorsNo interaction has been reported. EMA notes that thujone binds the GABA receptor, so wormwood preparations might in theory change the effect of medicines that act through it.78Review

Check with what you take

Kept on this device only

Add what you take. We list every interaction our evidence profiles cite between Wormwood and your picks, and between your picks.

Most cited:

Add a supplement or medicine you take to check it against Wormwood.

Starting from one medicine? The interaction checker rates how serious each pair is, on a curated list of 19 entries for 11 medicines. This cabinet has no severity rating: it lists every interaction row our supplement pages cite.

Not medical advice, and no dosing advice. An empty result means no row we cite names that pair, by name or through a drug class we can link the medicine to, not that a combination is safe. Where our sources name only a group of medicines we cannot match, the cabinet says so. Ask your pharmacist before you combine supplements and medicines.

Who should be careful

8 groups
Epilepsy or seizure risk
Thujone blocks GABA-A receptors and causes dose-dependent convulsions in animals, and EMA notes convulsions are the main sign of thujone poisoning. A man who drank about 10 ml of wormwood essential oil had tonic and clonic seizures and kidney failure. No study has tested wormwood in people with epilepsy.789
Wormwood essential oil
EMA reports severe poisonings and convulsions after thujone-rich essential oil or overdoses of alcoholic preparations, but no overdose cases from herbal tea. The oil is not covered by the EMA monograph.79
Liver, gallbladder and bile ducts
EMA: not to be used with bile duct obstruction, cholangitis or liver disease; people with gallstones or other biliary disorders should consult a doctor first.1
Daisy-family allergy
EMA: not to be used by people hypersensitive to wormwood or other plants of the Asteraceae (Compositae) family.1
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
EMA does not recommend use during pregnancy or breastfeeding; thujone stimulates the uterus, and a wormwood extract reduced implantation and live births in pregnant rats.1
Children and teenagers
EMA does not recommend use under 18 because safety has not been established.1
Duration
EMA advises seeing a doctor if symptoms last longer than 2 weeks or get worse.12
Driving
Because high thujone amounts impaired attention in a volunteer study, EMA's assessment advises against driving or using machines after wormwood preparations affect you.7
Talk to your pharmacist or clinician before starting a supplement, especially if you take prescription medicines.

How to read the label

What to check on the Supplement Facts panel.

How to read the label

3 checks
Check the Latin name

Wormwood is Artemisia absinthium; sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) is a different plant, so check the species on the label.1

Thujone content

EMA asks that products state their thujone content and keep daily exposure below 6.0 mg.1

The essential oil is a different product

EMA's monograph covers only cut or powdered herb (for tea), fresh-herb juice and tinctures; serious poisonings with seizures were linked to thujone-rich essential oil.179

Have the bottle? Photograph its Supplement Facts panel and see each line, wormwood (artemisia absinthium) included, beside the doses and forms the trials used in Label X-Ray.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to common questions; the numbers link to the sources below.

Common questions

7 answers
Does wormwood kill parasites?

There is no human trial of Artemisia absinthium for intestinal parasites in our sources. EMA accepts it only as a traditional remedy for temporary appetite loss and mild indigestion.12

What is wormwood used for?

In the EU, wormwood herb medicines are registered on the basis of long-standing use for temporary loss of appetite and mild stomach or gut complaints in adults.12

Does wormwood help Crohn's disease?

Two small trials from one author group reported more remissions, but one tested a herbal blend and the other only 20 people, so the evidence is weak.34

Is wormwood safe?

EMA knew of no side effects from its registered products, but it should not be used with liver or bile duct disease, daisy-family allergy, in pregnancy or breastfeeding, or under 18. Thujone exposure should stay below 6.0 mg a day; the essential oil has caused seizures.179

Can wormwood cause seizures?

Its thujone can. Thujone blocks GABA-A receptors and causes dose-dependent convulsions in animals, which is why EMA caps daily thujone below 6.0 mg. In people, seizures have followed essential oil or overdoses of alcoholic preparations; EMA found no overdose cases from herbal tea.1789

Does wormwood interact with medicines?

EMA lists no reported interactions. It notes a theoretical effect on medicines acting on GABA receptors, such as some anti-seizure drugs, because thujone binds that receptor.17

Is wormwood the same as sweet wormwood?

No. Wormwood is Artemisia absinthium; sweet wormwood is Artemisia annua, a different species with different research.1

Sources

11 sources: trial abstracts, NIH fact sheets and reference databases. Numbers in the text link here.

Sources cited on this page

11 sources
  1. 1European Union herbal monograph on Artemisia absinthium L., herba (EMA/HMPC/751490/2016 Corr. 1)Guideline European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC), 2020 · ema.europa.eu
  2. 2Wormwood herb: Summary for the public (EMA/366468/2017)Fact sheet European Medicines Agency (EMA), 2017 · ema.europa.eu
  3. 3Steroid-sparing effect of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) in Crohn's disease: a double-blind placebo-controlled study.RCT Phytomedicine, 2007 · PMID 17240130
  4. 4Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) suppresses tumour necrosis factor alpha and accelerates healing in patients with Crohn's disease - A controlled clinical trial.RCT Phytomedicine, 2010 · PMID 19962291
  5. 5Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) for poorly responsive early-stage IgA nephropathy: a pilot uncontrolled trial.Open-label trial Am J Kidney Dis, 2010 · PMID 20843592
  6. 6Using Dietary Supplements WiselyFact sheet National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), 2019 · nccih.nih.gov
  7. 7Assessment report on Artemisia absinthium L., herba (EMA/HMPC/751484/2016)Review European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC), 2017 · ema.europa.eu
  8. 8Thujone and thujone-containing herbal medicinal and botanical products: toxicological assessment.Review Regul Toxicol Pharmacol, 2013 · PMID 23201408
  9. 9Poison on line--acute renal failure caused by oil of wormwood purchased through the Internet.Observational N Engl J Med, 1997 · PMID 9297113
  10. 10Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of wormwood vaginal gel in improving sexual function and sexual satisfaction in women of reproductive age: A randomized, triple-blinds, placebo-controlled clinical trial.RCT Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol, 2023 · PMID 36368248
  11. 11Evaluating the safety and efficacy of wormwood vaginal cream on sexual satisfaction and quality of sexual life of postmenopausal women: a randomized, triple-blinds, placebo-controlled clinical trial.RCT BMC Womens Health, 2024 · PMID 39716229

What changed

Every dated change to this page: what changed, who made it and why.

Change log

2 entries
Dated changes to this page
DateChangeWho and why
evidence, forms, interactions, who should be careful, label guide, FAQAdded thujone and seizure safety from the EMA/HMPC assessment report, a thujone toxicology review (PMID 23201408) and a published essential oil poisoning case (PMID 9297113): new notes on seizure risk, essential oil and driving, and two FAQs. Recorded EMA's finding that no interactions are reported, with its theoretical note on GABA-acting medicines. Added two small vaginal-gel and cream trials (PMIDs 36368248, 39716229) as grade C rows and a matching form. Fact-checked against the sources; corrected: the second topical trial used a cream, not a gel, and the tolerance note no longer calls the products safe.Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: A–Z page audit
allInitial editorial evidence review. Every PMID checked against NCBI E-utilities esummary (title, year, journal; none retracted) and each cited abstract read; numbers taken from the abstracts. Funding not stated in any trial abstract (all from the Omer/Krebs group). Safety, contraindications and thujone limits from the EMA EU herbal monograph (EMA/HMPC/751490/2016 Corr. 1) and its public summary. Where to buy: we didn’t list a product; none of the products we checked is labelled as Artemisia absinthium (the ‘wormwood capsules’ we checked on 2026-10-15 contain sweet wormwood, Artemisia annua).Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: new page

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