Sarsaparilla is a perennial vine native to tropical America and the West Indies. There are several related species. The plant has a very thin stem and large, laminar, petiolate leaves with stipular tendrils that enable it to climb. Several sarsaparilla qualities are commercially available. The roots of Mexican origin (Vera Cruz, Tampico) are usually bigger and exhibit a thicker and more wrinkled skin than other varieties. Honduras sarsaparilla is sold in “cigars” consisting of folded roots externally tied into a small bundle by another root. The so-called Jamaican quality (Brazil, Central America, Colombia) differs from the Honduras product in its dark-red color. The only part used is the root. Sarsaparilla has very little odor and a sweet, creamy, licorice, slightly bitter flavor.
sarsaparilla (Smilax officinalis) is said to be healing, anti-septic, and beneficial for chronic skin disease, including psoriasis. Its primary constituents include saponins (sarsaponin and parallin) and sterols (sitosterol and stigmasterol). Regardless of the variety of sarsaparilla, in every case the sarsaparilla’s root is the part that is used.
Main constituents include sarsaponin, parillin and smilagenin. Five phenylpropanoid esters of sucrose glycosides, trivially named smiglasides A-E, were isolated from the rhizomes of Smilax glabra.*
