Sassafras albidum / Sassafras / Lauraceae (Laurel family)
Information
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Other Names
Ague Tree, Cinnamon wood, Common sassafras, Red sassafrass , Sassafras, Sassafras albidum, Sassafras officinale, Saxifras, Smelling stick, White sassafras.
Description
”Long, long ago, the first people began life as a doubled tree. God separated the two trees, gave them souls, turned the branches into arms and legs, and made the crowns into heads filled with the gift of knowledge. Other trees also wanted to become people. They tried, but didn’t make it. However, some of their leaves, like Sassafras’, are shaped like human hands, showing our ancient link to the trees.”
The original true flavor of root beer comes from Sassafras root. American Indians smoked the root bark in a pipe, which is highly aromatic and inebriating.
Contents
The main chemical components of Sassafras are: safrole, 5-menthoxy-eugenol, asarone, coniferaldehyde, camphone, thujone, anethole, apiol and eugenol. Several monoterpenes (α-pinene, limonene, cineol and camphor) have been found. The root-bark contains a heavy and a light volatile oil, camphorous matter, resin, wax a decomposition product of tannic acid called Sassafrid, tannic acid, gum, albumen, starch, lignin and salts. (4)(5)
Historical
Sassafras leaves, roots and bark have been used medicinally for centuries. Sassafras was employed by the Native Americans in the 16th century to ward off evil spirits and illness. The inner bark, especially that from the roots, was once an important commercial product. It was one of the first products exported from the New World to Europe.
Europeans got the idea that Sassafras albidum was a “wonder drug” that could alleviate many conditions. Even better yet, the belief somehow developed that Sassafras would retard old age. Oil of sassafras extracted from sassafras root bark was used as a food flavouring and was the basis of root beer, a popular non-alcoholic drink. The FDA banned the use of Sassafras oil as an additive in 1960, as safrole was found to cause liver cancer in rats. The root bark extract and leaves are now treated commercially to produce a safrole-free product, the root bark being used as a flavoring agent and the ground dried, leaves for filé powder. Filè powder is still used as a condiment and soup thickener in gumbo and other Cajun dishes. The (safrole free) root bark extract is used in perfumery, as a flavoring for candy, beverages, and to make an aromatic tea. (1)(2)(3)
Health Warnings
The oil can produce marked narcotic poisoning, and death by causing widespread fatty degeneration of the heart, liver, and kidneys, or, in a larger dose, by great depression of the circulation, followed by a centric paralysis of respiration(4). Safrol is found to be slowly absorbed from the alimentary canal, escaping through the lungs unaltered, and through the kidneys oxidized into piperonalic acid. A teaspoonful of the oil produced vomiting, dilated pupils, stupor and collapse in a young man. Its use has caused abortion in several cases. Research in the 1960s suggested that safrol is carcinogenic.
Plant Description
Sassafras is native to the entire Eastern United States and Canada as well as Mexico. It is commonly found in fields, open woods or along fences. Sassafras is an attractive deciduous tree that potentially can reach more than 80 ft (24.4 m) in height, but typically is only 20-30 ft (6.1-9.1 m) tall. It has a rather slender, pyramidal shape, with horizontal branches in distinct tiers. Sassafras sometimes forms shrubby thickets by root suckering. This long lived tree begins flowering while still quite small. Sassafras saplings have smooth, orange-brown bark but the trunk becomes deeply furrowed in larger trees. In autumn the leaves turn brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red. All parts of Sassafras are aromatic, smelling like root beer. (1)(3)
Legal Remarks
Safrole, and sassafras not certified as safrole-free, have been banned in the United States as food additives or flavoring agents by the FDA since 1976 due to safrole's designation as a carcinogen. Sassafras leaves do not contain sufficient amounts of safrole to be covered by the FDA ban. (2)
According to US and European legislation Safrole is considered a precursor since it has been used to manufacture MDMA and other illegal substances. Sale of pure Safrole and Sassafras oil is controlled. (6)
This product is illegal or somehow problematic to send to the following countries.
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References
(1) Sassafras albidum, Floridata
(2) Sassafras albidum, Wikipedia
(3) Great Americans: The Long History of Sassafras Albidum, The Monday Garden, Ontario Trees and Shrubs
(4) Sassafras, A Modern Herbal, by Maud Grieve
(5) Sassafras (U.S.P.)-Sassafras. King's American Dispensatory
(6) Safrole, Wikipedia
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