There are several informative on-line references about absinthe, including Wikipedia. Absinthe spoons (left) are designed to hold a sugar cube atop the glass containing absinthe, over which ice-cold water is dripped to dilute the absinthe. The lip near the center of the handle allows the spoon to rest securely on the rim of the glass. Spoon image courtesy of Wikimdia Commons (2012). Absinthe was among the most popular drinks near the end of the nineteenth century in France—not only in France but across Europe and even in the United States. The following is from Absinthe: The Tale of the Green Fairy by Joe Kissell: "But it is more than just a tasty alcoholic beverage: it’s a ritual. To prepare your absinthe in the traditional way, you begin by pouring about an ounce of the greenish liquid into a glass. On top of the glass you place a flat, slotted spoon on which a single sugar cube rests. You pour cold water over the sugar cube slowly enough that it dissolves by the time your glass is full. As the water mixes with the clear liquid it turns cloudy an effect called louching, caused by the oils in the absinthe. Finally, you stir the liquid with the spoon, and then drink."

At the 52nd annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in San Francisco, California, Dr. Paul Wolf of the University of California at San Diego presented some fascinating information about the glycoside digoxin and how it may have affected the creativity of Vicent van Gogh (1853-1890). According to Dr. Wolf, Van Gogh's epilepsy was treated with digoxin from the foxglove plant (Digitalis purpurea). His famous work, "The Starry Night" contains yellow circles around the stars, which are similar to visual problems described by patients with digoxin toxicity even today. Van Gogh also drank the liqueur absinthe on a regular basis. Absinthe is a green, bitter liqueur primarily flavored with wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), a European herbaceous perennial related to the native sagebrush species (Artemisia) of the western United States. Absinthe also contains thujone, a terpenoid component of many essential oils, including those found in Artemisia and the coniferous genus Thuja. Research has shown that thujone not only fuels creativity, but also that an overdose of the compound causes yellow-tinged vision (xanthopsia). Another species of wormwood (Artemisia maritima) contains santonin that was used as a treatment for intestinal worms. An overdose of santonin also results in chemically induced xanthopsia. Not everyone agrees that absinthe or digoxin toxicity may have contributed to van Gogh's increasing use of the color yellow in the last years of his life. Perhaps van Gogh may simply have loved the color yellow! Generally the effects of chemically-induced xanthopsia includes color vision rich in yellow but lacking blue. Many of Van Gogh's famous paintings contained the primary colors yellow and blue, and would not qualify as examples of xanthopsia. In fact, according to Dr. Wilfred Niels Arnold, the leading authority on van Gogh's illness, there is no evidence that van Gogh ever took the drug digitalis, and artist preference is still the best working hypothesis for the high yellow canvases. "Also, and more important in the present context, it is absurd to include digitalis poisoning in lists of possibilities to explain all his neurologic and psychotic problems that culminated in suicide."

According to Dr. W.N. Arnold, Professor of Biochemistry at University of Kansas Medical Center and author of Vincent van Gogh: Chemicals, Crises, and Creativity Birkhäuser, Boston (1992), the illness of Vincent van Gogh was much more complicated. Van Gogh suffered from acute intermittent porphyria (AIP). This debilitating genetic disease is characterized by excessive production of pophyrins due to the deficiency of a particular enzyme within the heme biosynthetic pathway. The word "porphyria" comes from the Greek "porphyrus," which means purple. People with AIP typically have urine that is red or purple. Another famous person whose madness was attributed to AIP was King George III of the United Kingdom. Elevated concentrations of porphyrins can lead to cutaneous photosensitivity and other neurological abnormalities, including psychoses, hallucinations, convulsions and paralyses. This disease can be exacerbated by maltnutrition and fasting with low-carbohydrate, low protein diets. There is substantial evidence that van Gogh developed an affinity for absinthe. He also took excessive doses of camphor oil to relieve insomnia. According to W.N. Arnold, van Gogh was abnormally sensitive to absinthe because of his congenital disease AIP. H.L. Bonkovsky and W.N. Arnold (1992) have shown that the terpenes camphor, thujone and pinene are porphyrogenic. "The combination of overexposure to camphor, absinthe abuse, and fasting or malnutrition would be injurious for anyone, but devastationg for someone with AIP." Dr. Arnold (2004) summarizes van Gogh in the following two sentences: "He was wonderfully creative because of intelligence, talent, and hard work. He was a genius in spite of his illness - not because of it."

Although they are not proteins, some respiratory pigments called porphyrins, such as the heme component of the red blood cell pigment hemoglobin, are associated with polypeptides. Porphyrins contain a complex nitrogenous ring with a metallic atom (iron, magnesium or copper) in the center. Plant pigments (chlorophylls a & b) are magnesium porphyrins. Some invertebrates with green blood have copper porphyrins. Porphyrins also include the iron-containing cytochrome pigments located on the inner membranes (cristae) of mitochondria in plants and animals.

Vincent van Gogh died in 1890 and was burried in Auvers, France. In 1905 his remains were moved to a larger gravesite nearby. His casket had been completely entwined by the roots of an ornamental evergreen tree (Thuja occidentalis) that is a source of the terpenoid thujone. In fact, the name "thujone" is derived from the genus Thuja. It is interesting and ironic that Vincent van Gogh's relationship with thujone continued even after his death.

"The Yellow House" painted by Vincent van Gogh  about two years before his death in the year 1890.

"Starry Night" painted by Vincent van Gogh  while in an Asylum at Saint-Remy in 1889.

Khat or bushman's tea (Catha edulis) is a shrub or small tree native from Arabia through eastern Africa to the Cape of South Africa. Small white flowers are produced in the axils of toothed, opposite leaves, followed by clusters of brown seed capsules. The generic name Catha is derived from "khat" the Arabic common name for this plant. The fresh leaves are chewed and made into a stimulant tea by Muslim people and by the Copts of Ethiopia. In fact, khat is widely cultivated on terraced hills in the highlands of eastern Ethiopia. Leaves contain the amine alkaloid cathinone, the effects of which are similar to amphetamine. Khat (Catha edulis) showing clusters of seed capsules in leaf axilx. The psychoactive chemicals in the leaves responsible for the human attraction to khat include two monamine alkaloids cathine and cathinone. Both alkaloids are the amine-type in which the nitrogen atom is not within a heterocyclic carbon ring. Instead, nitrogen is in a side chain that branches off from the carbon ring. This structure is also found in other psychoactive alkaloids, such as ephedrine and mescaline. Cathinone appears to be the primary stimulant in khat, and is chemically and psychoactively similar to amphetamine and methamphetamine. It is different from other amphetamines because it contains a ketone functional group (C=O) on the beta position of the side chain. The less powerful stimulant cathine has an alcohol functional group (C-OH) at this position. The decrease in potency of fresh khat leaves after several days is caused by the conversion (reduction) of cathinone into cathine. This is why fresh leaves are preferred. The legal status of khat is DEA Schedule I, CA Schedule III, and UK Class A. Growth habit and basal trunks of Khat (Catha edulis). The interaction of khat alkaloids on the human nervous system is complex and is similar to the stimulatory effects of amphetamines. In fact, amphetamine is prescribed for the treatment of narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (NDHD). The effects of chewing fresh leaves includes general euphoria and increased alertness, accompanied by relief from hunger and fatigue. Like South America coca leaves, the drug gives a constant mild high to those who chew leaves throughout the day. A Google search on the Internet will produce a world of articles about this fascinating plant.

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