SASSAFRAS: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions, Interactions, Dosing and Reviews (2024)

FAQs

What are the side effects of sassafras tea? ›

Sassafras can cause sweating and hot flashes. High amounts can cause vomiting, high blood pressure, hallucinations, and other severe side effects. When applied to the skin: Sassafras containing safrole is LIKELY UNSAFE for use as a medicine.

Overview. Sassafras is a plant. The root bark is used to make medicine. Despite serious safety concerns, sassafras is used for urinary tract disorders, swelling in the nose and throat, syphilis, bronchitis, high blood pressure in older people, gout, arthritis, skin problems, and cancer.

For Healthcare Professionals. Sassafras is a perennial tree native to Eastern United States. Native Americans used infusions made from its root bark as a remedy to treat fevers, diarrhea, and rheumatism. It was also used to scent perfume and even as a flavoring for root beer.

In addition to this variety of medicinal uses, sassafras was used for food, construction and other purposes. The leaves were used fresh as a spice, much like bay leaves, for flavoring in meat soups. Leaves were dried and pounded and used as a thickening agent and to add flavor to foods and soups.

While the amount of sassafras that could potentially cause cancer in humans remains unknown, one cup of strong sassafras tea is reported to contain as much as 200 mg of safrole, an amount that is four times higher than the amount considered potentially hazardous to humans if consumed regularly.

Sassafras tea is produced from the root bark of the sassafras tree, which is native to parts of North America and Eastern Asia. Test-tube studies show that sassafras and its components may reduce inflammation, act as a diuretic, and help treat leishmaniasis, a parasitic infection.

Sassafras had many medicinal uses as a tea to purify blood and heal ailments including skin diseases, rheumatism, venereal disease, and ague. The roots and berries made a tea to treat nausea, fevers, fatigue, gas pains, menstrual pains, and syphilis.

Anti-inflammatory - one of the oldest applications of sassafras is for fever reduction but of course is also used for gastrointestinal inflammation, arthritis, headaches, as well as more serious conditions such as gout or rheumatism.

As a result of the drug's action in the brain, the individual who uses sassafras, particularly sassafras oil or safrole, may experience the following harmful health effects, according to WebMD: Hallucinations. High blood pressure. Hot flashes and sweating.

Well, sassafras and sarsaparilla both contain safrole, a compound recently banned by the FDA due to its carcinogenic effects. Safrole was found to contribute to liver cancer in rats when given in high doses, and thus it and sassafras or sarsaparilla-containing products were banned.

What food is sassafras used for? ›

Sassafras is the main ingredient in traditional drinks, root beer, sweets and root tea. Ground sassafras leaves are used for their thickening and flavouring qualities. Native Americans used sassafras leaves as a fresh spice, like bay leaves, in soups and meat stews.

Both beverages are named after their distinct differences in ingredients when they were first made. Sarsaparilla was made from the Sarsaparilla vine, while Root Beer, roots of the sassafras tree. These days, Root Beer recipes do not include sassafras as the plant has been found to cause serious health issues.

The twigs and leaves are both edible, and can be eaten raw or added to soups for flavor. Although it seems strange, dried sassafras leaves are actually very important spice in some dishes. Native Americans and early colonists, however, did not use sassafras roots for pleasure or spices; they used them as medicine!

While sassafras is no longer used in commercially produced root beer and is sometimes replaced with artificial flavors, natural extracts with the safrole distilled and removed are available.

Sassafras is in the Laurel family, making it related to the plants that produce cinnamon and bay leaves. Due to its aromatic nature, Sassafras has a number of culinary uses. Sassafras root was used to flavor the original root beer, sarsaparilla.

Well, sassafras and sarsaparilla both contain safrole, a compound recently banned by the FDA due to its carcinogenic effects. Safrole was found to contribute to liver cancer in rats when given in high doses, and thus it and sassafras or sarsaparilla-containing products were banned.

Sassafras has been used for centuries to treat multiple conditions ranging from blood purifications to stomach complaints, particularly by various Native American tribes. Some folk medicine techniques involved creating sassafras tea to treat liver, kidney and chest problems.

Indigenous Uses

Sassafras had many medicinal uses as a tea to purify blood and heal ailments including skin diseases, rheumatism, venereal disease, and ague. The roots and berries made a tea to treat nausea, fevers, fatigue, gas pains, menstrual pains, and syphilis.

The bark of roots was used to make sassafras tea and to flavor root beer. "Aromatic sassafras tea, once popular as a stimulant and blood thinner and as a reputed cure for rheumatism and syphilis, causes cancer in rats when taken in large amounts.