Smilax ornata is a perennial trailing vine with prickly stems that is native to Mexico and Central America. Common names include sarsaparilla, Honduran sarsaparilla,

Uses

Food

Smilax ornata is used as the basis for a soft drink known as sarsaparilla. It is also a primary ingredient in old fashioned-style licorice, in conjunction with sassafras, which was more widely available prior to studies of its potential health risks.

Traditional medicine

Smilax ornata was considered by Native Americans to have medicinal properties, and was a popular European treatment for syphilis when it was introduced from the New World. From 1820 to 1910, it was registered in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia as a treatment for syphilis.

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File:Sarsaparilla-Triterpenes.svg|Triterpenes, a constituent of sarsaparilla

File:Sarsaparilloside.svg|Sarsaparilloside, a constituent of sarsaparilla

File:Sarsaparilla-R1.svg|Sarsaparilla R1, a constituent of sarsaparilla

File:Sarsaparilla-R2.svg|Sarsaparilla R2, a constituent of sarsaparilla

File:Parillin.svg|Parillin, a constituent of sarsaparilla

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See also

  • Hemidesmus indicus, Indian sarsaparilla
  • Aralia nudicaulis, wild sarsaparilla or false sarsaparilla
  • Sweet sarsaparilla (Smilax glyciphylla), a vine native to eastern Australia

References

  • Whatever happened to the soft drink sarsaparilla? Cecil Adams, 1977