absinthe

A 2008 chemical analysis of 13 authentic absinthe samples made before 1915 reported total thujone concentrations of 0.5–48.3 mg/L (mean 25.4±20.3 mg/L; median 33.3 mg/L). The authors concluded that historical estimates of thujone concentration were generally too high and that postban and modern legal absinthes had similar thujone ranges. However, the samples were surviving bottles, and the paper did not fully resolve the possibility of changes in composition during storage.

The same study reported that, within the analyzed parameters—thujone, pinocamphone, fenchone, methanol, copper, and antimony—it found no substance other than ethanol that could explain the syndrome 『アブサン中毒(absinthism)』 (in translation: "absinthe intoxication (absinthism)"). Verbatim: nothing besides ethanol was found in the absinthes that was able to explain the syndrome absinthism. This factual finding counters the formerly widespread 『ツヨン中毒』 (in translation: "thujone poisoning") account; it does not establish that drinking absinthe is safe.

Among the same 13 preban samples, only the Edouard Pernod sample exceeded the EU drinking-water copper limit of 2 mg/L (6.59 mg/L); the others were lower. Antimony was reported as undetected in all samples (ICP-MS, detection limit 0.001 mg/L). The authors concluded that the measured data did not support historical hypotheses of adding copper salts for coloring or antimony salts to imitate the clouding 『ルーシュ効果』 (in translation: "louche effect").

EU flavoring regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008) sets a 35 mg/kg limit for thujone (α+β) in alcoholic beverages derived from Artemisia; the provision names Artemisia-derived drinks, not 『アブサン』 (in translation: "absinthe"). A summary of GC analyses across preban, postban, and modern products states that measured total thujone values for preban absinthes, including representative brands, fell within this limit, although individual samples included a maximum of 48.3 mg/L, which exceeded the limit.