Sassafras ~ Materia Medica by Jyll Renee
October 25, 2010 by Becki Baumgartner
Filed under Herbology, Supplements
SASSAFRAS
By Jyll Renee, Master Herbologist
Botanical name: Sassafras albidum
Common name: Ague tree, cinnamon wood, smelling stick, S. varifolum, S. officinale
Habitat: Sassafras is native to eastern North America. It is a tree that can grow up to 90 feet tall, and has distinctive three fingered mitten shaped leaves. The inner bark of the root is used medicinally and in the preparation of beverages.
Info: Sassafras is an excellent blood-purifying alterative for a wide variety of skin diseases including acne. It is commonly used by the rural Appalachia and the Ozarks as a diuretic and treatment for arthritic and rheumatic complaints, pains, ulcers, colds and flu’s.
When the Spanish arrived in Florida in the early 16th century, they mistook the fragrant sassafras for a cinnamon tree, an error still perpetuated in one of the trees common names.
The local Indians used the bark of its roots to treat fevers and rheumatism; and as a general tonic and “blood purifier” a medicine that by causing urination and sweating cleanses the blood of “impurities” thus called an alterative herb.
Word of sassafras’ amazing curative powers reached Europe, and for a time it became a major colonial export, second only to tobacco. The Europeans also discovered sassafras tea, and it soon became a fashionable beverage.
The oil extracted from the tree remained in use as an antiseptic for dentistry and as a flavoring for toothpastes, root beer, and chewing gum until the early 1960’s. At that time the U.S. food and Drug Administration declared that the chemical compound safrole, found in the oil of the root bark, was a potential carcinogen.
Interesting to note, in the rural areas of the southeast North America where the sassafras and the concentration of safrole is used, there is notably a low percentage of cancer compared to other areas of the U.S. This leaves some question as to the equating of the carcinogenic properties of pure safrole with the use of the whole herb.
It has been found that whole sassafras when fed to rats and mice does result in the formation of live tumors. However, when the safrole, which accounts for part of the characteristic aroma and flavor of sassafras, is removed, the rats still developed live tumors. It would seem that something in sassafras simply does not agree with the metabolism of rats.
Furthermore, sassafras is seldom used alone, so that its combination with other herbs tends to lessen the standard dose and offset any possible side effects.
Properties: Alterative, diaphoretic, diuretic, carminative, antirheumatic
*At this time of writing no known drug interactions
Ref:
www.naturalmedicine.com Prock, Deborahe, ND 10/25/2010
Magic and Medicine of Plants. Readers digest pages 292
The Way of Herbs, Michael Tierra, L.Ae, O.M.D. pages 189-191
Submitted by: Jyll Renee, Master Herbologist (Click here to learn more about Jyll Renee.)
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Disclaimer: The statements in this article are for educational purposes only and have not been evaluated by or sanctioned by the FDA. Only your doctor can properly diagnose and treat any disease or disorder. The remedies discussed herein are not meant to treat or cure any type of disease. The user understands that the above information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician or a pharmacist.