Top INDEX
• - Basics: Sarsaparilla, Are You Sure?
• Working: History, Ingredients, & Uses of Sarsaparilla.
• Benefits : Sarsaparilla - Detoxifier and Immune Enhancer.
• Cautions: Sarsaparilla - Excessive exposure can irritate.
• - Beers : What’s the difference ... Root Beer, Sarsaparilla, & Birch Beer?

• Family: Smilax aristolochiaefolia Miller--(Mexican sarsaparilla); Family: Smilacaceae.
• Family: Smilax ornata Hooker-- (Jamaican sarsaparilla); Family: N.O. Liliaceae (Smilacaceae).
• Family: Smilax aspera Extracts--(Spanish sarsaparilla); Family: Smilacaceae.
• Family: Smilax Papyracea-- (Brazilian, Rio Negro or Lisbon); Sarsaparilla Family.
• Family: Smilax ovalifolia Extracts-- (Indian sarsaparilla;) Family: N.O. Asclepiadaceae.

  Product Possibilities, NOT Recommendations.

  Product: Sarsaparilla, St Francis, 250 ml.

  Product: Sarsaparilla, Nature's Answer, Alcohol-Free.

  Product: Sarsaparilla Root 425 mg., Natures Way.

  Product: Sarsaparilla, 560 mg, 60 Tablets, HealthAid.

  Product: Sarsaparilla Root, 450 mg, Solaray.

• Insight: The plant can grow in many different forms.
• Insight: In America, it was confused with Sassafras.
• Insight: Binding to endotoxins may provide significant detoxing.
• Insight: A natural plant based source of iron; remedy for anemia.
• Insight: Infusions in alcohol may greatly increase their medicinal qualities.
• Insight: Only one gender is presented on individual plants: 2 plants required.

• -Focus-: Monographs on Toxins and Enhancers.

Basics: Sarsaparilla, Are You Sure? INDEX
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarsaparilla_(soft_drink)

LINK 2: https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/sarsaparilla.html
Article last updated on October 06, 2017 by OrganicFacts
LINK 3: https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/production/print,wild-sarsaparilla.html
LINK 4: https://www.drugs.com/npp/sarsaparilla.html

Sarsaparilla is a woody, trailing vine, which can grow to 50 meters in length.
Many Smilax species are very similar in appearance regardless of origin.
The part of the plant used for medicinal purposes is the root.
Although this root has a pleasant fragrance and spicy sweet taste, and has been used as a natural flavoring agent in medicines, foods, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Sarsaparilla plants are typically woody or thorny and are most commonly found in tropical, warm, and temperate regions around the world. You may know this plant by a different name, depending on where you live, including catbriers, carrion flowers, or prickly-ivys. These plants can grow in a number of forms, including evergreen shrubs, deciduous trees, and hanging vines, and they typically have clusters of red or purple berries.

Wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis L., Araliaceae) is a member of the ginseng family.
It is a perennial herb with a single leaf stalk 30 - 60 cm tall that divides into 3 stems, each with 3 - 5 oval, pointed toothed leaflets.
Flowers are small and greenish, in 3 umbels on a separate flowering stem. The fruit is a dark purple-black berry.

Sarsi is a sarsaparilla-based drink popular in Asia.

Sarsaparilla is not readily available in most countries, although many pubs and most major supermarket chains in the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Australia stock sarsaparilla-flavoured soft drinks, and sarsaparilla remains available in the United Kingdom as a legacy of the temperance movement. Australian sarsaparilla has a different flavour from American root beer or sarsaparilla.

Sarsaparilla is produced on a small scale in the United Kingdom.
Baldwin's produces a Sarsaparilla cordial in the United Kingdom and have done so continuously since 1844.
In the north of England, sarsaparilla is produced by Fitzpatrick's, Britain's last temperance bar, indicating its previous importance to the temperance movement there.

Classic American sarsaparilla was not made from the extract of the sarsaparilla plant, a tropical vine distantly related to the lily. It was originally made from a blend of birch oil and sassafras, the dried root bark of the sassafras tree. Sassafras was widely used as a home remedy in the 19th century – taken in sufficient doses it induces sweating, which some people thought had health benefits.

Sarsaparilla apparently made its debut as a patent medicine, an easy-to-take form of sassafras, much as Coca-Cola was first marketed in 1885 as a remedy for hangovers, headaches and morphine addiction. Besides the effects of the ingredients, sodas were popular in the United States at the time, due to the belief that carbonated water had health benefits.

Working: History, Ingredients, & Uses of Sarsaparilla. INDEX
https://www.drugs.com/npp/sarsaparilla.html

LINK 2: https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/production/print,wild-sarsaparilla.html

LINK3: http://www.ccba.bc.ca/discuss1/_disc1/00000a49.htm
History and Archeology of Sarsaparilla
Canada-China Business Association(CCBA) --- www.ccba.bc.ca
Suite 825-826, 6081 No.3 Road, Richmond, B.C., Canada V6Y 2B2
Tel:(604)248-8445 Email: ccba2@ccba.bc.ca
From: Michael Derrida --- Date: 5/29/2003

Sarsaparilla did not become well-known until the 16th century.
During these times Caribbean and North American Indians suggested its use as a treatment for various skin ailments, urinary problems and to help maintain ones’ youth and energy. Sarsaparilla root has been used for centuries by the indigenous peoples of Central and South America for sexual impotence, rheumatism, skin ailments, and as a general tonic for physical weakness. It has long been used by tribes in Peru and Honduras for headaches and joint pain, and against the common cold. Many shamans and medicine men in the Amazon use sarsaparilla root internally and externally for leprosy and other skin problems (such as psoriasis and dermatitis.) Leprosy can be common in areas where the disease is carried by armadillos (and particularly where armadillos are “on the menu” in indigenous diets). Sarsaparilla root also was used as a general tonic by indigenous tribes in South America, where New World traders found it and introduced it into European medicine in the 1400s.

European physicians considered sarsaparilla root an alterative, tonic, blood purifier, diuretic, and diaphoretic.
A Smilax root from Mexico was introduced into European medicine in 1536, where it developed a strong following as a cure for syphilis and rheumatism. Since th is time, the Smilax genus has had a long history of use for syphilis and other sexually-transmitted diseases throughout the world. With its reputation as a blood purifier, it was registered as an official herb in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia as a syphilis treatment from 1820 to 1910. From the 1500s to the present, sarsaparilla has been used as a blood purifier and general tonic and also has been used worldwide for gout, syphilis, gonorrhea, rheumatism, wounds, venereal disease, arthritis, fever, cough, scrofula, hypertension, digestive disorders, psoriasis, skin diseases, and cancer.

The French physician Monardes described using sarsaparilla to treat syphilis in 1574.
In 1812, Portuguese soldiers suffering from syphilis recovered faster if sarsaparilla was taken to treat the disease versus mercury, the standard treatment at the time.

Sarsaparilla has long been used in the treatment of syphilis.
Clinical observations in China demonstrated that sarsaparilla was effective (according to blood tests) in about 90% of acute and 50% of chronic cases.

In the 1950s the antibiotic properties of sarsaparilla were documented; other studies documented its antifungal and antimycobacterial activities. Its anti-inflammatory activity has been demonstrated in several in vitro and in vivo studies, using different laboratory-induced models of arthritis and inflammation. One of these studies attributes the beneficial effect for arthritis to sarsaparilla’s immunomodulatory action. Sarsaparilla also has demonstrated hepatoprotective effects in rats, with researchers concluding that it is able to prevent immune-mediated liver injury.

Improvement of appetite and digestion has been noted with sarsaparilla, as well as its diuretic actions in humans.
The root has been reported to have stimulatory activity on the kidneys in humans and, in chronic nephritis, it was shown to increase the urinary excretion of uric acid.

The root of wild sarsaparilla was used by North American First Nations people to make a bitter tea that was used to treat heart pain, stomach upset, toothache and sore throats. It was applied externally to prevent and treat infections.

The whole plant was used to treat pneumonia, and the fruiting stalk to stimulate lactation.
It is used today by herbalists as a substitute for true sarsaparilla, the totally unrelated plant Smilax spp. (Liliaceae) as a blood purifier and tonic. It is also being promoted as tonic because of its botanical relationship to ginseng, although there is very little chemical or pharmacological evidence to support such a use.

Wild sarsaparilla is very common in shaded mixed woods, in rich soil with lots of decaying plant material.
It is found across Canada from coast to coast, and as far north in Manitoba as Reindeer Lake.

Harvesting is traditionally done by hand, taking only the main root of mature plants.
The secondary root is left to propagate. The roots are washed and dried on racks, then stored on racks in a dark, dry, well ventilated area until they are chipped or ground.

Many Smilax species contain a number of steroidal saponins.
S. sarsaparilla contains approximately 2% steroidal saponins, including

• sarsaponin,
• smilasaponin (smilacin),
• sarsaparilloside and its aglycones
  • sarsasaponin (parillin),
  • sarsasapogenin (parigenin), and
  • smilagenin.
  
  Other saponins include
• diosgenin,
• tigogenin, and
• asperagenin.

Various saponins from other Smilex species exist as well, from S. menispermoidea, S. sieboldii, S. lebrunii, S. riparia, and S. china.

Phytosterols listed are sitosterol, stigmasterol, and pollinastanol.

Other constituents present in sarsaparilla include starch (50%), resin, cetyl alcohol, volatile oil, caffeoylshikimic acid, shikimic acid, ferulic acid, sarsapic acid, kaempferol, and quercetin.

Minerals reported in the genus include
• aluminum,
• chromium,
• iron,
• magnesium,
• selenium,
• calcium,
• zinc, and
• others.

Sarsaparilla has been used for treating syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) throughout the world for 40 years and was documented as an adjuvant for leprosy treatment in 1959.

The ability of sarsaparilla to bind to endotoxins may be a possible mechanism of action as to how the plant exerts its effects. Problems associated with high endotoxin levels circulating in the blood stream such as liver disease, psoriasis, fevers, and inflammatory processes, all seem to improve with sarsaparilla.

Benefits: Sarsaparilla - Detoxifier and Immune Enhancer. INDEX
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/sarsaparilla.html
Article last updated on October 06, 2017 by OrganicFacts

LINK 2: https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/production/print,wild-sarsaparilla.html
LINK 3: https://www.drugs.com/npp/sarsaparilla.html

LINK3: http://www.ccba.bc.ca/discuss1/_disc1/00000a49.htm
History and Archeology of Sarsaparilla
Canada-China Business Association(CCBA) --- www.ccba.bc.ca
Suite 825-826, 6081 No.3 Road, Richmond, B.C., Canada V6Y 2B2
Tel:(604)248-8445 Email: ccba2@ccba.bc.ca
From: Michael Derrida --- Date: 5/29/2003

The most impressive health benefits of sarsaparilla include its ability to prevent certain types of cancer, reduce inflammation, help in weight loss, boost the immune system, alleviate skin conditions, increase libido, and relieve stomach issues. The fact that sarsaparilla binds bacterial endotoxins in the gut, making them unabsorbable, greatly reduces stress on the liver and other organs.

A Natural Antibiotic.
Antibiotic properties of the plant are shown by its treatment of leprosy and its actions against leptospirosis, a rare disease transmitted by rats, as proven by Chinese studies.

The root of wild sarsaparilla was used by North American First Nations people to make a bitter tea that was used to treat heart pain, stomach upset, toothache and sore throats. It was applied externally to prevent and treat infections.

The whole plant was used to treat pneumonia, and the fruiting stalk to stimulate lactation.
It is used today by herbalists as a substitute for true sarsaparilla, the totally unrelated plant Smilax spp. (Liliaceae) as a blood purifier and tonic. It is also being promoted as tonic because of its botanical relationship to ginseng, although there is very little chemical or pharmacological evidence to support such a use.

Detoxifies the Body
Sarsaparilla has long been used as a diuretic, which means that it stimulates urination in those who consume it. For people who want to purify their body or detoxify in some way, a diuretic can eliminate excess fats, salts, toxins, and water from the body. Furthermore, it has been known to purify the blood, thereby increasing overall health and reducing strain on the liver and kidneys.

Boosts Immune System
The natural antibacterial properties of sarsaparilla berries and the compounds in the roots make this herbal supplement a wonderful way to increase the strength of your immune system. The antibacterial properties can also help prevent infections on the skin and generally improve your response time to cold and other common illnesses.

Skin Care
The antibacterial properties of sarsaparilla are one reason why the topical application of this extract (in salves and creams) is so popular. The antioxidant content can also improve the appearance and health of the skin. By eliminating wrinkles and reducing the appearance of age spots, when applied or consumed, it can keep you looking young! The endotoxin-binding sarsaponin from the plant has improved psoriasis in 62% of patients and has completely cleared the disease in 18%, as seen in a 1940s study. 16 Antidermatophyte activity from the species S. regelii has been demonstrated in a later report.

Treats Arthritis Pains
If you are suffering from any sort of inflammatory issue, such as gout, arthritis, or even aching muscles and joints, the active ingredients of sarsaparilla can help alleviate those pains. It contains various compounds, such as saponins, parillin, and other flavonoids that can soothe those flare-ups within the body and alleviate pain and discomfort.

Cancer Prevention
The presence of antioxidants in the root and extract of sarsaparilla has been very useful for cancer researchers around the world looking into more natural and herbal remedies. Although research has not been conclusive, the early results show positive associations between the flavonoid and sterol contents of the plant and a reduction in the spread of cancerous cells. Antioxidants are able to neutralize free radicals, the cancer-causing byproducts of cellular respiration, and there are plenty of antioxidants in sarsaparilla!

Increases Sex Drive
One of the more traditional uses of sarsaparilla was to increase the libido of men and women in an effort to increase fertility.
Some of the organic compounds found in this root extract have been shown to increase blood flow and boost sperm motility, thereby increasing the chances of conception and improving overall sex drive. In Mexico, the root is still used for its alleged aphrodisiac properties.

Weight Loss
Although research is still ongoing to determine the exact chemical pathway for this health benefit, it appears that sarsaparilla is able to suppress appetite. This means that for those trying to lose weight, adding this supplement can curb your cravings and keep you from cheating on your diet.

The species S. glabra exhibits wormicidal effects, improves hepatitis B in combination, had marked therapeutic effects (in combination) in the treatment of intestinal metaplasia and atypical hyperplasia.

Benefits as noted by Culture.

Argentina: Aphrodisiac, diaphoretic, rheumatism

Brazil:
Alterative, anorexia, anuria, aphrodisiac, arthritis, calculi, depurative, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, dysuria, eczema, fever, gout, hypotonia, impotence, muscle, oliguria, pimples, psoriasis, purgative, rheumatism, skin, sterility, sudorific, syphilis, ulcer, urinary, urticaria, venereal disease

China:
Abscess, aphrodisiac, arthritis, boil, cystitis, diarrhea, digestive, diuretic, dysentery, enteritis, fever, malaria, mercury poisoning, rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, skin, sores, stimulant, syphilis, tonic

England:
Abscess, alterative, anorexia, antiseptic, cancer, diaphroetic, diuretic, dysentery, eczema, ergogenic, gout, immune, impotence, infections, inflammation, leprosy, mercury poisoning, muscle, PMS, pruritis, psoriasis, rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, skin, stimulant, syphilis, tonic, venereal disease

Europe: Alterative, arthritis, diaphoretic, diuretic, inflammation, kidney, psoriasis, rheumatism, skin, syphilis, tonic, urinary

India: Aphrodisiac, spasm

Latin America:
Aches, alterative, aphrodisiac, arthritis, cold, diaphoretic, digestive, fever, gout, impotence, pain, psoriasis, rheumatism, skin, stimulant, syphilis, tonic, venereal disease, weakness

Malaya: Aphrodisiac, rheumatism

Mexico:
Arthritis, burn, cancer, depurative, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic , dyspepsia, eczema, fever, gonorrhea, inflammation, leprosy, nephritis, rash, rheumatism, scrofula, skin, stimulant, sudorific, syphilis, tonic, venereal disease

Turkey: Alterative, aphrodisiac, blood purifier, depurative, diuretic, emetic, scrofula, sudorific, tonic

United States:
Acne, alterative, arthritis, bladder, burns, cancer, convalescence, cough, depurative, diabetes, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, eczema, ergogenic, expectorant, eye, fever, gonorrhea, gout, hepatoprotective, herpes, hives, hypertension, impotence, infertility, inflammation, kidney, laxative, leukorrhea, liver, pectoral, pleurisy, PMS, pruritus, psoriasis, rheumatism, scrofula, shingles, skin, STDs, stomach, stress, syphilis, tonic, tuberculosis, ulcer , ulcerative colitis, urinary, warts, wounds

Elsewhere:
Abscess, alterative, anabolic, aperitif, aphrodisiac, arthritis, asthma, boil, burn, cancer, carminative, cold, conjunctivitis, cystitis, debility, demulcent, dermatosis, depurative, diaphoretic, diarrhea, digestive, diuretic, dropsy, dysentery, dyspepsia, eczema, epilepsy, emetic, enteritis, fever, gonorrhea, gout, herpes, impotence, inflammation, kidney, leprosy, liver, lung, lymphadenopathy, malaria, malignancy, menorrhagia, pruritis, psoriasis, rash, refrigerant, rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, scrofula, skin, sterility, stimulant, stomach, sudorific, syphilis, tonic, toothache, tumor, urogenital, venereal disease, wound

Cautions: Sarsaparilla - Excessive exposure can irritate. INDEX

LINK 2: https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/sarsaparilla.html
Article last updated on October 06, 2017 by OrganicFacts
LINK 3: https://www.emedicinehealth.com/sarsaparilla/vitamins-supplements.htm

Stomach Ailments:
Consuming high quantities of saponins, which are found in sarsaparilla, can cause stomach upset, diarrhea, and indigestion in some people.

Allergic Reactions:
The powdered form of the herb, or “sarsaparilla dust” can cause allergic reactions that may resemble symptoms of asthma in some patients.

Testosterone.
Athletes sometimes use sarsaparilla as a steroid for performance enhancement or bodybuilding.
Some supplement makers claim that chemicals (sterols) in sarsaparilla can be converted to anabolic steroids like testosterone. But this is a false claim. The sterols contained in sarsaparilla are not anabolic steroids nor are they converted in the body to anabolic steroids. Testosterone has never been detected in any plant, including sarsaparilla.

Don't confuse sarsaparilla with Indian or false sarsaparilla (Hemidesmus indicus, Family: Apocyanaceae).
There are reports that this false sarsaparilla is a common impurity found in sarsaparilla preparations.
False sarsaparilla contains none of the possibly active chemicals found in true sarsaparilla (Smilax febrifuga, Family: Smilacaceae).

Interactions with medications:

Digoxin (Lanoxin)
Digoxin (Lanoxin) helps the heart beat more strongly.
Sarsaparilla might increase how much digoxin (Lanoxin) the body absorbs.
By increasing how much digoxin (Lanoxin) the body absorbs sarsaparilla might increase the effects and side effects of digoxin (Lanoxin).

Lithium
Sarsaparilla might have an effect like a water pill or "diuretic."
Taking sarsaparilla might decrease how well the body gets rid of lithium.
This could increase how much lithium is in the body and result in serious side effects. ...

Beers : What’s the difference ... Root Beer, Sarsaparilla, & Birch Beer? INDEX
https://rootbeerrespect.wordpress.com/
whats-the-difference-between-root-beer-sarsaparilla-and-birch-beer/
2014-08 by Anonymous

Root Beer
Root beer is a carbonated soft drink which was originally made using the root of the sassafras plant.
Safrole, the oily liquid extracted from the root-bark of sassafras plants has been banned by the FDA as a likely carcinogen and is no longer used in U.S. based root beer. In addition to sassafras, other root beer flavorings include vanilla, wintergreen, licorice root, sarsaparilla root, nutmeg, acacia, anise, molasses, cinnamon, clove, and honey.

Sarsaparilla
Sarsaparilla is a carbonated soft drink originally made from the native Central American plant smilax ornata.
In Spanish the plant is known as zarzaparrilla. ...
Sarsaparilla is now generally made with artificial flavors and is considered a type of root beer.

Birch Beer
Birch beer is a carbonated soft drink made from herbal extracts of birch bark and birch sap.
Birch beer comes in a variety of colors based on the species of birch tree. Colors include brown, red, blue, and clear (white).
Birch beer is most common in the Northeastern United States. ...

Family: Smilax aristolochiaefolia Miller
-- (Mexican sarsaparilla); Family: Smilacaceae. INDEX
http://www.ccba.bc.ca/discuss1/_disc1/00000a49.htm
History and Archeology of Sarsaparilla
Canada-China Business Association(CCBA) --- www.ccba.bc.ca
Suite 825-826, 6081 No.3 Road, Richmond, B.C., Canada V6Y 2B2
Tel:(604)248-8445 Email: ccba2@ccba.bc.ca
From: Michael Derrida --- Date: 5/29/2003

Part Used: Root Bark

Sarsaparilla is a widely applicable alternative.
It may be used to aid proper functioning of the body as a whole and in the correction of such diffuse systemic problems as skin and rheumatic conditions. It is particularly useful in scaling skin conditions such as psoriasis, especially where there is much irritation. As part of a wider treatment for chronic rheumatism it should be considered and is especially useful for rheumatoid arthritis. It has been shown that Sarsaparilla contains chemicals with properties that aid testosterone activity in the body.

Sarsaparilla(Smilax aristolochiaefolia) Sarsaparilla did not become well-known until the 16th century.
During these times Caribbean and North American Indians suggested its use as a treatment for various skin ailments, urinary problems and to help maintain ones’ youth and energy. Although controversial, Sarsaparilla was also used as a treatment for syphilis. Sarsaparilla contains vitamin C, B-complex (especially B-6), calcium, iron and other trace minerals. There has not been a lot of in-depth research done on Sarsaparilla so it is hard to recognize all of its possible benefits. However, many people from different countries have suggested similar uses. The Europeans and Chinese believe that it can be used to reduce the discomforts of various arthritic, as well as certain urinary conditions.

Modern herbalists believe that Sarsaparilla should be used for the treatment of colds, coughs, fevers and gout.
And, although no research supports its use as a muscle strengthening herb, many weight trainers continue to use Sarsaparilla to enhance muscle growth.

Smilax Medica has an angular stem armed with straight prickles at joints, and a few hooked ones at intervals; paper-like leaves, bright green both sides, smooth, cordate, auriculate, shortly acuminate, five-nerved prominent veins underneath and otherwise variable in form. Mid-rib and petioles, when old, have straight, subulate prickles, peduncles three lines to 1 inch; umbels twelve flowers; pedicle three lines long.

Found growing in Papantla, Inspan, etc.
Said to be similar to the Mexican or Vera Cruz Sarsapa of commerce, which may be derived from this species. Sarsaparilla mexican (Synonym. Vera Cruz Sarsaparilla), as found in commerce, has a caudex with a number of long radicles which are smaller and have a thinner bark than the Honduras variety, contain little starch and have square endodermal cells with thickened walls, and more or less oval lumen. The taste is acrid and the plant contains the medical properties of other Sarsaparillas.

Family: Smilax ornata Hooker
-- (Jamaican sarsaparilla); Family: N.O. Liliaceae (Smilacaceae). INDEX
http://www.ccba.bc.ca/discuss1/_disc1/00000a49.htm
History and Archeology of Sarsaparilla
Canada-China Business Association(CCBA) --- www.ccba.bc.ca
Suite 825-826, 6081 No.3 Road, Richmond, B.C., Canada V6Y 2B2
Tel:(604)248-8445 Email: ccba2@ccba.bc.ca
From: Michael Derrida --- Date: 5/29/2003

Smilax officinalis has a twining stem, angular and prickly; young shoots una rmed; leaves ovate, oblong, acute, cordate, smooth, 1 foot long; petioles 1 inch long, having tendrils above the base.

This plant grows in New Granada, on the banks of Magdaline near Bajorgne.
Commercially it consists of very long roots, with a thick bark, grey or brown colour. Almost odourless. Taste mucilaginous.
The deep orange-tinted roots are the best. Backward-pointing stem emergences are common on vines and scramblers.

Vertebrates are likely to travel around these thickets, because progress through them is slow and hazardous.
Having stem emergences helps the plant to form a tangle with itself and other plants, providing more support than free-standing shoots. This is a neotropical climber, Smilax mollis (Family Smilacaceae).

Description:
This plant derived its name from being exported to Europe through Jamaica.
The word Sarsaparilla comes from the Spanish Sarza, meaning a bramble, and parilla, a vine, in allusion to the thorny stems of the plant. This is a non-mealy Sarsaparilla. It is a large perennial climber, rhizome underground, large, short, knotted, with thickened nodes and roots spreading up to 6 or 8 feet long. Stems erect, semiwoody, with very sharp prickles 1/2 inch long. Leaves large, alternate stalked, almost evergreen with prominent veins, seven nerved mid-rib very strongly marked. Flowers and fruit not known. Cortex thick and brownish, with an orange red tint; when chewed it tinges the saliva, and gives a slightly bitter and mucilaginous taste, followed by a very acrid one; it contains a small proportion of starch, also a glucoside, sarsaponin, sarsapic acid, and fatty acids, palmitic, stearic, behenic, oleic and linolic.

Jamaica Sarsaparilla was introduced in the middle of the sixteenth century as a remedy for syphilis, and later came to be used for other chronic diseases, specially rheumatism. It is a mild gastric irritant due to its saponin content. The smoke of Sarsaparilla was recommended for asthma. It is also very useful as a tonic, alterative, diaphoretic and diuretic. Its active principle is a crystalline body, Parillin or Smilacin.

Constituents:
Salseparin, starch, colouring matter, essential oil chloride of potassium, bassorin, albumen, pectic and ascitic acids, and salts of lime, oxide of iron, potassium and magnesia. It is said to be the source of Honduras Sarsaparilla and is considered the best of all Sarsaparillas. It is exported from the bay of Honduras in over 2 feet long roots folded into a sort of hank, with a few rootlets attached, grey or reddy brown, with mealy cortex. It has the same properties as the other varieties, but if alcohol is added to the infusions of the root it will greatly increase their medicinal qualities.

Family: Smilax aspera Extracts
-- (Spanish sarsaparilla); Family: Smilacaceae. INDEX
http://www.ccba.bc.ca/discuss1/_disc1/00000a49.htm
History and Archeology of Sarsaparilla
Canada-China Business Association(CCBA) --- www.ccba.bc.ca
Suite 825-826, 6081 No.3 Road, Richmond, B.C., Canada V6Y 2B2
Tel:(604)248-8445 Email: ccba2@ccba.bc.ca
From: Michael Derrida --- Date: 5/29/2003

Synonyms: Smilax mauritanica (Desf.) Family: Smilacaceae
Range: S. Europe to Asia in the Himalayas. Spain, Italy, South France
Other Common Names: Italian Sarsaparilla [H ], Salseparaille [E ], Zarzaparrilla [E ],
Epithets: From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets: asper = rough; aspera = rough;

Physical Characteristics
An evergreen climber growing to 3m. It is hardy to zone 9.
It is in leaf all year, in flower from August to September.
The scented flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 3 out of 5 for usefulness. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations: Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses:
Drink: Leaves; Root.
Young shoots - raw or cooked as a vegetable.
They can be cooked and used as an asparagus substitute.
The tendrils are also eaten[148]. The plant is an ingredient of soft drinks. (this probably refers to the root)

Medicinal Uses: Alterative; Demulcent; Depurative; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Stimulant; Tonic.
The root is alterative, demulcent, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, stimulant and tonic.
This is one of the best depurative medicines and is used as a springtime tonic and general body cleanser, usually with woody nightshade (Solanum dulcamara). The root has all the medicinal virtues of the widely used tropical herb sarsaparilla, though to a lesser degree. It is often used as an adulterant to that plant.

Other Uses: Dye; Hedge.
A red dye is obtained from the ripe tendrils
The plant is often grown as an impenetrable hedge in warmer countries than Britain.

Cultivation details: Succeeds in most soils in sun or semi-shade
A very ornamental plant, it is only hardy in the mildest areas of Britain, tolerating temperatures down to about -10°c.

The flowers have a heavy sweet perfume. Dioecious.
Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation Seed - sow March in a warm greenhouse.
This note probably refers to the tropical members of the genus, seeds of plants from cooler areas seem to require a period of cold stratification, some species taking 2 or more years to germinate. We sow the seed of temperate species in a cold frame as soon as we receive it, and would sow the seed as soon as it is ripe if we could obtain it then. When the seedlings eventually germinate, prick them out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first year, though we normally grow them on in pots for 2 years. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer. Division in early spring as new growth begins. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer. Cuttings of half-ripe shoots, July in a frame.

Family: Smilax Papyracea
-- (Brazilian, Rio Negro or Lisbon); Sarsaparilla Family. INDEX
http://www.ccba.bc.ca/discuss1/_disc1/00000a49.htm
History and Archeology of Sarsaparilla
Canada-China Business Association(CCBA) --- www.ccba.bc.ca
Suite 825-826, 6081 No.3 Road, Richmond, B.C., Canada V6Y 2B2
Tel:(604)248-8445 Email: ccba2@ccba.bc.ca
From: Michael Derrida --- Date: 5/29/2003

Description:
The radicals are often very amylaceous internally and in this respect is very like Sarsaparilla papyracea, but the plant has now almost been destroyed and is difficult to obtain.

The roots contain large quantities of starch.

S. papyracea, native of Trinidad, French Guiana and North Brazil, is a near ally of S. officinalis, and like it, is only known by is leaf specimens; it is recognized by the old stems and lower branches, which instead of being cylindrical, as in most other species, always remain intensely quadrangular, their angles having very flat closely crowded prickles and leaves more membranaceous.

The Rio Negro Smilax is an allied species Smilax Spruceana.
This plant is known as affording Guatemala Sarsaparilla and is considered to be identical with Sarsaparilla papyracea.

Smilax syphilitica is a native of New Grenada, has a smooth round stem, bearing at the knots two to four short, thick, straight prickles. Leaves 1 foot long, oblong, lanceolate, acuminate, shining, coriaceous, three nerved, ending in a long point.

Guayaquil Sarsaparilla grows in the valleys of the Western slopes of Equatorial Andes.
It appears in commerce carelessly packed in bales. The rhizome and parts of the stem often mixed with the root, the stem is round and prickly, root dark , large and coarse, with much fibre. The bark furrowed thick and not mealy in the thinner portions of the root, which is near the foot-stalks. As the root gets thicker, the bark becomes thicker, smoother and amylaceous, showing when cut a pale yellow interior.

Family: Smilax ovalifolia Extracts
-- (Indian sarsaparilla;) Family: N.O. Asclepiadaceae. INDEX
http://www.ccba.bc.ca/discuss1/_disc1/00000a49.htm
History and Archeology of Sarsaparilla
Canada-China Business Association(CCBA) --- www.ccba.bc.ca
Suite 825-826, 6081 No.3 Road, Richmond, B.C., Canada V6Y 2B2
Tel:(604)248-8445 Email: ccba2@ccba.bc.ca
From: Michael Derrida --- Date: 5/29/2003

Botanical: Hemidesmus Indica, Family: N.O. Asclepiadaceae

Synonyms: Hemidesmus. Periploca Indica. Nunnari Asclepias. Pseudosarsa. Smilax lanceaefolia, lanceaefolia, Indian sarsaparilla

Part Used-: Dried root.

Habitat: All parts of India, the Moluccas, and Ceylon.

Description:
A climbing slender plant with twining woody stems, and a rust-coloured bark, leaves opposite, petiolate, entire, smooth, shiny and firm, varying in shape and size according to their age. Flowers small green outside, deep purple inside, inaxillary, sessile racemes, imbricated with flowers, followed with scale-like bracts. Fruit two long slender spreading follicles.

This plant has long been used in India as an antisyphilitic in place of Sarsaparilla, but was not introduced into England till 1831. The root is long, tortuous, rigid, cylindrical, little branched, consisting of aligneous centre, a brownish corky bark, furrowed and with annular cracks, odour aromatic, probably due to Coumarin and not unlike Sassafras or new-mown hay, with a bitter, sweetish, feeble aromatic taste. One side of the root is sometimes separated from the cork and raised above the cortex and transversely fissured, showing numerous laticiferous cells in the cortex.

Constituents: Unknown.
No satisfactory investigation has yet been made of th e chemical properties.
But a volatile oil has been found in it and a peculiar crystallizable principle, called by some Hemidesmine;
others suggest that the substance is only a stearoptene. It also contains some starch, saponin, and in the suberous layer tannic acid.

Medicinal Action and Uses: Alterative, tonic and diuretic.
Useful for rheumatism, scrofula, skin diseases and thrush; it is used as an infusion, but not as a decoction as boiling dissipates its active volatile principle. Two OZ. of the root are infused in 1 pint of boiling water and left standing for 1 hour then strained off and drunk in 24 hours.

It has been successfully used in the cure of venereal disease, proving efficacious where American Sarsaparilla has failed.
Native doctors utilize it in nephritic complaints and for sore mouths of children.

Product: Sarsaparilla, St Francis, 250 ml. INDEX
http://www.healthpalace.ca/st-francis-sarsaparilla-250-ml/
Retail Price: Ca $63.99 --- Your Price: $47.99 --- (You save $16.00) -- June 23, 2018

Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for purifying the blood.

Medicinal Ingredients (per 1 ml): Smilax glabra (Sarsaparilla)

Extract: 1.0: 4.0
DHE: 250.0 milligrams
Dry

Non-Medicinal Ingredients: Grain alcohol, Purified water

Adults: Take 0.8- 1.2 ml - 3 times daily

Contraindications: Do not use if you have a kidney disorder.

Product: Sarsaparilla, Nature's Answer, Alcohol-Free. INDEX
https://ca.iherb.com/pr/Nature-s-Answer-Sarsaparilla-Alcohol-Free-2000-mg-1-fl-oz-30-ml/8001
Regular: CA $18.38 --- Our Price: CA $11.94 --- CA $11.94 --- You Save: CA $6.44 (35%) --- 2018-08
We ship products from one of our two warehouses located in California or Kentucky, USA.
2000 mg, 1 fl oz (30 ml)

Description:
• Authentic Botanical Fingerprint
• Smilax Medica
• Super Concentrated 2000 mg
• Discover Nature's Answer
• Herbal Supplement
• Bio-Chelated Cold Extraction Process
• Kosher Parve

Our alcohol-free extracts are produced using our cold Bio-Chelated proprietary extraction process, yielding a Holistically Balanced Authentic Botanical Fingerprint extract in the same ratios as in the plant

Our Facility is NSF GMP Certified, Organic and Kosher Certified

Suggested Use:
As a dietary supplement take 1-2 mL (28-56 drops) three (3) times a day in a small amount of water.

Other Ingredients:
Vegetable glycerin, purified water.

Warnings:
• Shake well. Keep out of reach of children
• Warning: Do not use if pregnant or nursing

Customer Feedback:

I've been a vegan for over 3 decades and it's important to me that I use a natural plant based source of iron.
Well I've recently discovered that sarsaparilla is the highest plant based source that you will find. I and my husband use it on a daily basis and if we've got a really busy schedule we take it 3x a day as recommended on the bottle. My husband was iron deficient and since he's started using this product his tests for anaemia have all shown that he's rid of this problem. This product is definitely a great buy if you're looking to boost your iron intake. ...

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Product: Sarsaparilla Root 425 mg., Natures Way. INDEX
https://www.luckyvitamin.com/
p-5269-nature-s-way-sarsaparilla-root-425-mg-100-vegetarian-capsules
Sale Price: $10.78 (CAD) --- $16.38 (CAD) -- Save 34% -- June 27, 2018
Item #: 54342 -- 50 days at 2 caps/day.

Ingredients: per capsule

425 mg. of Sarsaparilla Root
plant-derived capsule (modified cellulose),
magnesium stearate.

Dosage: Take 2 capsules daily.

Product: Sarsaparilla, 560 mg, 60 Tablets, HealthAid. INDEX
https://www.amazon.ca/HealthAid-Sarsaparilla-560mg-Vegan-Tablets/....
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HealthAid House, Marlborough Hill
Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 1UD
Phone: +44 (0) 20 8426 3400

Ingredients per capsule

140 mg --- Sarsaparilla Extract, (equivalent to 560mg of Sarsaparilla powder) Other:
di-Calcium Phosphate, Sarsaparilla Extract (smilax spp),
Microcrystalline Cellulose, Croscarmellose Sodium, Veg. Stearic Acid,
Veg. Magnesium Stearate, Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), Talc.

Product: Sarsaparilla Root, 450 mg, Solaray. INDEX
https://www.vitacost.com/solaray-sarsaparilla-root
Sarsaparilla Root, 450 mg, Solaray 100 Capsules.
Retail price: USA $12.29 --- Our price: $7.37 --- Save: 40% -- 2018-06-24

Sarsaparilla was used widely as an extract in root beer formulas.

Ingredients per 3 capsules (suggested dosage)
450 mg --- Sarsaparilla Root (smilax aristolochiaefolia)
Other Ingredients: Gelatin capsule, magnesium stearate and cellulose.