Sarsaparilla, a root that eliminates Urea and Uric Acid

Smilax officinalis, a member of the Liliaceae family, is commonly known as Sarsaparilla due to its robust thorns that make the forest impenetrable, to the extent of damaging clothing if one passes by.

 

There are numerous species, all native to the warm regions of the Americas, from Mexico to Brazil.

It is a perennial herbaceous plant, an evergreen vine of scrublands and hedges, with woody climbing stems, equipped with tendrils. The leaves are shiny, leathery, heart-shaped, or arrow-shaped with thorns on the edges and in the lower central vein. The flowers are unisexual, fragrant, small, with white sepals, and are grouped in umbels, borne on a zigzag axis about 10-15 cm long. The flowering period is from September to November.

 

The fruits are red berries, about half a cm in size, which ripen in the following autumn.

Part used: root

 

Main constituents: saponins (about 1-3%, with smilagenin and sarsapogenin as the main ones), phytosterols and sterolic glycosides, resin 2.5%, essential oil (in traces), fatty oil, starch, and tannins.

 

Properties: anti-arthritic, antirheumatic, diaphoretic, diuretic, and depurative. Eliminates urea and uric acid, anti-syphilitic.

Indications: excess of urea and its disorders, chronic nephritis, gouty rheumatism, skin diseases, herpes, venereal diseases (syphilis).

 

Indicated in metabolic diseases such as arthritic diathesis, hyperuricemia, gout, and skin diseases of metabolic origin. It is already mentioned by Castore Durante in the HERBARIO NUOVO of 1585: “It warms, dries, thins, opens, and dissolves, induces sweating“.

 

It was used in the 16th century in the treatment of syphilis.

 

In homeopathy, the mother tincture obtained from the peeled root is used, with indications in case of nephritic colitis, cystitis, prostatitis, and chronic dermatitis.

 

At high doses, it can cause irritation of the gastrointestinal tract.

 

Herbal tea for gout:

 

– Ononide root 30 grams

– Sarsaparilla root 30 grams

– Tormentilla 15 grams

– Saponaria root 15 grams

– Parsley root 10 grams

 

Decoction. Dosage: 10 grams in 300 grams of water. Boil for 10 minutes. 1 cup in the morning and evening on an empty stomach.

 

(Fitoterapia Moderna, L. Palma)

 

Depurative herbal tea:

 

– Couch grass rhizome 10 grams

– Licorice root 10 grams

– Burdock root 20 grams

– Ononide root 20 grams

– Wild chicory root 20 grams

– Sarsaparilla root 20 grams

 

Decoction. Dosage: one tablespoon per cup. Boil for 10 minutes. 1-2 cups per day, preferably in the morning on an empty stomach.

 

(Van Hellemont)

 

GIULIA CALDARELLI