Sarsaparilla, A Literature Review

Botany |  History | Chemistry | Pharmacology | Clinical Uses | Adulterants | Conclusions

INTRODUCTION
A group of medicinal plants from the genus Smilax, collectively called sarsaparilla, was introduced from the New World into European medicine in the early 1600's by Spanish traders. Sarsaparilla soon found a ready market throughout Europe for treatment of syphilis and a variety of complaints that were considered to yield to the action of "blood purification." Since that time, and undoubtedly centuries before, plants from genus Smilax have been used world wide to alleviate many human ills. Because of a combination of factors, to be reviewed in the following paper, sarsaparilla has seen drastic swings in popularity - from the height of success and acclaim as an important medicinal drug plant, selling hundreds of thousands of pounds per year, to its dismissal as a worthless nostrum. The following paper reviews the literature on the botany, history of use, chemistry, pharmacology, clinical use and adulteration of sarsaparilla.

BOTANY
The name sarsaparilla comes from the Spanish zarza (a bramble), parra (a vine) and illa (small). A small brambly vine. The ancient Latin name was Smilax, and is mentioned as such by Pliny. Linnaeus described this group of plants under the genus Smilax, which is still recognized today by most botanists from the northern hemisphere, being placed in the Lily family, Liliaceae. Some recent taxonomic literature from South America places the plants under a segregate family, the Smilacaceae.

There are approximately 350 species worldwide in the genus, occurring mostly in the tropics, subtropics and Asia. Smilax is represented by 12 species in the USA, of which two are from the West, S. californica and S. jamesii.

Only a few of the species are known to be commonly traded as botanical drugs. The taxonomic history of the medicinal species presented in Table 1 (after Klaus). To this list are added plants that have also been called sarsaparilla, and have been used as an adulterant or substitute.

TABLE #1
Plants sold as Sarsaparilla
Species Official from:
Honduran Sarsaparilla
Smilax sarsaparilla L 1820 to 1842
Smilax officinalis 1842 to 1942
Smilax Regelii Killip & Morton 1942 to present
Mexican Sarsaparilla
Smilax medica Chamisio & Schlectendal 1882 to 1942
Smilax aristolochiaefolia Miller 1942 to present
Jamaican Sarsaparilla
Smilax ornata Hooker 1905 to 1942
Ecuadorian Sarsaparilla
Smilax spp. 1942 to 1959
Smilax febrifuga Kunth 1960 to present
Indian Sarsaparilla
Hemidesmus indica
(India) not official
American Sarsaparilla Not official
Aralia nudicaulis (Eastern US)
European Sarsaparilla, Italian Smilax Not official
Smilax aspera (S. Europe)
False China-root not official
Smilax Psuedo-China (S.E. US.)
China-brier, Bullbrier not official
Smilax Bona-mox (S.E. US.)


Morphologically, the plants are mostly woody vines, that climb by means of a pair of tendrils on the petiol of wide prominently ribbed simple leaves. The flowers are small, regular, greenish, yellowish or bronze, and dioecious (separate male and female flowers). They occur in umbels on auxiliary peduncles. The fruit is a small black, blue or red berry.

Knotty, short rhizomes typically grow in damp forest soil. The prickly stems at times climb high into the canopy. This is one reason (the extreme leaf variation is another) for the years of taxonomic confusion among the medicinal species: the flowers and fruits are often out of reach of would be collectors.

HISTORY OF USE
The original sarsaparilla was "observed by Schiede on the Eastern slope of the mountains (in Mexico). He was told that its roots gathered all year long, dried in the sun and tied into bundles, being carried to Vera Cruz for export." (1879)

Before 1530, when sarsaparilla was introduced into European trade from New Spain (Mexico), several species were being used for medicine in their native lands.

Smilax aspera was known and used by the ancients. Dioscorides and Pliny recommended the leaves of this plant against "deadly poisons, weather they be drunk before or after." Its nature was considered to be "dry and hot", a reference to the ancient system of characterizing medicinal plants.

Sarsaparilla was mentioned by many early writers, who observed it in many parts of Southern Europe and North Africa. The young shoots were eaten, and in Roman times the mature vines were worn as garlands at festivals of Bacchus, by the common people. This practice was generally "looked upon as ill omened, and consequently banished from all sacred rites - receiving this mournful character from the maiden Smilax, who upon her love being slighted by the young Crocus, was transformed into this shrub (Pliny 16:63)."

Gerard, in his "Great Herbal", mentions that the Honduran and Peruvian sarsaparilla "are a remedy against long continual pain of the joints and head, and against the cold." Spanish sarsaparilla, S. aspora, he takes to be similar, but weaker in action.

According to Monards, the Spanish botanist, Mexican sarsaparilla was introduced into Europe medicine about 1536 at Seville. Other species soon followed from Guatemala and Honduras. They were highly regarded as a remedy for syphilis, which was also imported from the new world in the late 1400's, and for rheumatism. from Spain, the herb found its way into the pharmacists shops all over Europe and England.

Few plants have had the rise and fall in popularity that sarsaparilla has had. When it was introduced it was considered remarkably effective for diverse chronic diseases, and many doctors of the time wrote about its benefits. Generally considered an alterative tonic, blood purifier, diuretic and diaphoretic, it was given alone or in combination with other herbs, as well as with mercury for long-standing venereal disease.

Pereia, a leading physician in London in the mid nineteenth century, felt that sarsaparilla works when "the malady is of long continuance, and the constitution is enfeebled and emaciated, either by repeated attacks of the disease, or by the use of mercury," and that it is "the great restorer of appetite, flesh, color, strength and vigor." Pereira gives obstinate skin disease, such as chronic abscesses as a further indication. He concludes that "the great advantage of sarsaparilla over many other alteratives and tonics, is, that although it may fail in doing good, it never does any harm beyond that of now and then causing slight disorder of stomach." Although sarsaparilla found favor with many physicians, the same charges that its chief benefit was to make money for its distributors were made then, as today. That it was profitable and popular can be seen by the 176,854 pound imported into England alone during 1831.

Perhaps because of inferior quality roots, adulteration and substitution, sarsaparilla fell completely out of favor in the late eighteenth century, but it was strongly promoted again about 1750 by Fordyce and others, as a remedy for syphilis. Its renewed popularity continued until the time of Cullen, the famous English doctor, about 1800. Cullen considered it completely inert, and was quite influential in his day.

Sarsaparilla was again in favor around 1850, when it was official in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. It was recommended by Wood, the co-author of the U.S. Dispensatory, for "the treatment of secondary syphilis." It continued to be official until 1950.

During the turn of the century, highly promoted patent remedies of dubious efficacy, considered "quack" remedies by regular doctors, were in their heyday. Foremost among these were various sarsaparilla remedies, notably Ayer's Sarsaparilla, which "made the weak strong". This preparation sold hundreds of thousands of bottles all over the world, with indications for weakness and disease in nearly any organ of the body.

"Disorders of the liver, stomach and kidneys, as well as tuberculosis, tumors, rheumatism, female weakness, sterility, pimples and syphilis, could be cured by just one remedy, Ayer's Sarsaparilla."
From our perspective today, whether or not one believes in the efficacy of sarsaparilla as a long term tonic, diuretic and blood purifier, the unbridled claims listed above might seem to be nothing more than pure commercial hype. No wonder that Congress stepped in and passed the 1906 Food and Drug Act, in an attempt to control the extravagant claims made for patent commercial products.
Smilax China is an ancient drug plant from China. It was reported in the older literature to be imported into Europe in the seventeenth century, under the name China Root. Recent work has indicated that the original China Root is actually Poria cocos (a tuber-like underground fungus which grows in association with the roots of various conifers) or Smilax glabra. Lindley, the eminent botanist, said of this plant:

"Smilax china has a large fleshy root, the decoction of which is supposed to have virtues equal to that of sarsaparilla in improving the health after the use of mercury. According to the Abbe Rochon, the Chinese often eat it instead of rice, and it contributes to make them lusty."
(This description dates from 1830)

Smilax china is taken in decoction for boils and abscesses, rheumatoid arthritis, urinary tract infection, enteritis, diarrhea and as an antidote to mercurial poisoning -- nearly the same indications as sarsaparilla. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, it has cooling properties and removes excess moisture, promotes diuresis, is tonic and antimalarial.

In the USA, several species of Smilax have been widely used as a substitute for sarsaparilla, and for other medicinal and food purposes. The principle species used was S. Pseudo-China, being the one "generally preferred in medicine as an alterative." It also formed the basis of many diet drinks among the "unlicensed faculty". "from the tubers, with maize, sassafras and molasses the Negroes of Carolina manufacture "a very pleasant" beer." It was also used to fatten hogs in South Carolina. A famous Eclectic physician, John King, thought S. Smallii (S. lanceolata) more effective in syphilis than any of the commercial species.

CHEMISTRY
The main active fraction of the various species has usually been considered to consist of saponin glycosides. since they are steriod-like compounds, and because of its reputation as a male rejuvenating tonic, many have made claims that sarsaparilla contains active steroid hormones.

Paltta first isolated parillin, probably a mixture of saponin glycosides (it foamed upon shaking with water) in 1824. this mixture has also been called smilacin, salseparin, sarsaparillin and parallinic acid. Fluckiger determined that there was about 0.19% in an unidentified Smilax species.

The major saponin glycosides with steriod like nuclei (from the new world species) are now recognized as sarsaponin, smilacin, sitosterol-d-glucoside, and pollinastanin. they occur in the plants along with their genins and other steroids as sarsapogenin, smilgenin, sitosterol, stigmasterol and pollinastanol. One modern figure indicated the usual level of steriod saponins in unidentified Smilax species, indicated to be sarsaparilla, as 1.8-2.4%. (Wagner, H., et al. 1984)

Other constituents include, paroaparic acid, sarsapic acid, resin, volatile oil, starch, a mixture of fatty acids (palmitic, stearic, behenic, oleic and linoleic), oxalic acid and a polysaccharide.

The mineral ions were quantified in the dry root of Honduran sarsaparilla and determined to be 1.25% SiO, 0.42% Al, 0.41% Ca, 0.30% Mg, 1.25% K and 0.46% Cl. The vitamin C content of Mexican sarsaparilla, S. aristolochiaefolia (dry root) was determined to be 19.4 mg%.

More recent work has been done on Smilax aspera, the European species, than on the new world species. The constituents identified include sarsapogenin, tigogenin (var. mauritanica), asperoside, 31-norcycloartanol, and from the essential oil, methylvanillin and piperonol. Diosgenin, a common phytosterol, has been isolated from Smilax china.

PHARMACOLOGY
After all the interest in sarsaparilla from both the medical profession, public and patent medicine manufacturers over the years, it is somewhat surprising that so little clinical and laboratory testing has been done on it. There is no sound evidence in the scientific literature to support the many fantastic claims that have been made for sarsaparilla, especially as a male rejuvenator or energy tonic. Nonetheless, one cannot completely rule out the possibility that those plants have pharmacological activity. Perhaps, as the famous American physician, and co-author of the US Dispensatory, George Wood, suggest:

"It seems to me impossible to resist the conclusion ... that a remedy cannot be quite inert, which has so often risen into notice after neglect, and which, though considered useless by many, has the voice of the greater number, and those probably the most experienced, in its favor."
There are a few interesting studies on the pharmacology of sarsaparilla that bear mention, which are summarized in table 1. It must be noted that all of the clinical studies cited in the literature are from the period 1933-1951. None of the studies are performed blind, some of them being reports of subjective improvement among subjects.
TABLE #1

Findings Reference "Renotrat", a sarsaparilla preparation, increased urinary excretion of Uric Acid resulting in a 30% drop in blood levels Humpert, Fritz (1933) Klin. Wochschr 12; 1696 (CA 28:828) Sarsaparilla aqueous extract had a beneficial effect in cases of eczema and psoriasis. Leclerc, Henri (1938) Presse Med. 46:284 (CA 32:5505) Sarsaparilla root "showed diuretic action in the rat and increased the elimination of chloride and uric acid" Jaretzky, Robert (1951) Pharmazie 6: "An extract of Smilax ornata corresponding to 15g of root given twice a day for several months gave better results in lepers than did sulfones." 115-117 Rollier, R, et 776-780. al. (1951). Maroc med. 30: (CA 46: 1719g).

One recent question being hotly discussed in the herb industry is the nature of sarsaparilla's action on the sexual hormones, if any. Sarsaparilla has been widely touted as a male sexual rejuvenator, some even contending that it contains actual human testosterone. This report, however, (by G. Singer) is from non-technical advocacy literature. Commercial products abound that either openly declare sarsaparilla to be a good source of anabolic steroids or infer it. The major market seems to be centered around the recent "body building" craze. It is known that many athletes, both professional and amateur use steroid drugs which could be harmful to health. Officials have banned such use, and initiated testing to safeguard against many who ignore the regulations. This coupled with several highly publicized deaths from steroid use may be the reasons for the present search for safe and legal substitutes. Neither scientific study, nor folklore evidence supports the use of Smilax for increasing muscle mass.

Chemical analysis to date has found no testosterone-like compounds in sarsaparilla. One report indicated that the drug contains progesterone and cortin (hormone from the suprarenal cortex), but with no reference to actual scientific research. According to the recent article by Singer, Russel Marker and Ewald Rohrman "first found testosterone, the male sex hormone, in sarsaparilla." Marker is well known for his work in the area of steroidal saponins, but a review of his research, mostly published in the Journal of the American