SARSAPARILLA DATABASE

The genus Smilax is one of the three belonging to the family of flowering plants Sassaparilla or Smilax (lat. Smilacaceae). The vast genus includes more than 300 plant species found in tropical and subtropical climates around the world.

BOTANICAL INFORMATION:

Sarsaparilla (Smilax Medica) is a woody perennial clinging liana from the genus Smilax. It has a wriggling stem, mostly covered with spines curved downward. The leaves of the plant are evergreen, two-rowed, with a leathery surface, a smooth edge and a heart-shaped base. Leaves can reach a length of 30 centimeters. They are equipped with a grasping antenna. The rhizome of the plant is massive, cone-shaped with numerous adventitious roots, reaching a length of 1 meter. The powerful root system of Sarsaparilla is covered with gray-brown wrinkled bark. Sarsaparilla flowers are unisexual, small, inconspicuous, whitish-green, collected in umbellate corymbose inflorescences. The fruits of the plant are spherical berries, colored in various shades of red, from bright to purple-violet.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE PLANT:

The chemical composition of the plant has not been studied enough. However, the roots of the plant have undergone a number of chemical and pharmacological studies. They contain starch, mucus, resins, bitterness and essential oil, as well as amino acids, phytosterol and minerals, in particular magnesium, iron, potassium and calcium. The main active is steroidal saponins. Smilacin, cystine and methionine are also found in the roots.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION:

Sarsaparilla (Smilax Medica) was brought to Europe by traders in the 15th century. The first written mention of it dates back to 1553. The Spanish priest, humanist and historian Pedro Cieza de Leon wrote in his book about the beneficial properties of the sarsaparilla plant. 

In 1887, Sarsaparilla was described in a three-volume reference book known as the Köhler Medicinal Plants atlas.

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