Sassafras Officinale – Nutritional Value, Health Benefits

Sassafras Officinale/Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is a relatively small, ornamental, deciduous tree that is native to Missouri but grown across the eastern United States. The tree has distinctive greenish-yellow blossoms that appear in April or May. But it is the roots and the root bark (or peeled root) that are used for medicinal purposes. Roots may be dried and used for tea and were formerly used as the flavoring for root beer.

Drinking sassafras tea can have several impressive health benefits such as detoxifying the body, breaking fevers, thinning the blood, strengthening the immune system, improving skin health, aiding respiratory health, and reducing inflammation, among others.

Other Name

• Ague Tree,
• Bois de Cannelle,
• Cinnamon Wood,
• Common Sassafras,
• Kuntze Saloop,
• Laurier des Iroquois,
• Laurus albida, Saloop,
• Sasafras, Sassafrax,
• Sassafras albidum,
• Sassafras officinale,
• Sassafras variifolium,
• Saxifrax.

What is Sassafras Tea?

Sassafras tea is made from the root and bark of the sassafras tree, a deciduous flowering tree native to North America. The flavor of the tea is reminiscent of root beer, which is why many early recipes for the refreshing beverage include sassafras.

Sassafras trees grow from 9–35 m (30–115 ft) tall with many slender sympodial branches, and smooth, orange-brown bark or yellow bark.^[rx] All parts of the plants are fragrant. The species are unusual in having three distinct leaf patterns on the same plant: unlobed oval, bilobed (mitten-shaped), and trilobed (three-pronged); the leaves are hardly ever five-lobed.^[rx] Three-lobed leaves are more common in Sassafras tzumu and Sassafras randaiense than in their North American counterparts, although three-lobed leaves do sometimes occur on Sassafras albidum. The young leaves and twigs are quite mucilaginous and produce a citrus-like scent when crushed. The tiny, yellow flowers are generally six-petaled; Sassafras albidum and Sassafras Hesperia are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate trees, while Sassafras Izumi and Sassafras randaiense have male and female flowers occurring on the same trees. The fruit is a drupe, blue-black when ripe.^[rx]

The largest known sassafras tree in the world is in Owensboro, Kentucky, and is over 100 feet (30 m) high and 21 feet (6.4 m) in circumference.^[rx][rx]

However, this tea also contains safrole, which is deemed to be a carcinogen. It is, therefore, not recommended for use by doctors, particularly in large quantities. Only very small doses of sassafras tea are recommended by herbal practitioners, who still use this plant, despite the proven risks. It has been banned in the United States. Even so, the tree is native to eastern North America and is still used in many areas of the world. ^[rx]

Health Benefits of Sassafras Tea

While there are health risks to consuming an excess of sassafras tea, in moderate amounts it is known to have a positive impact on your liver, circulatory system, immune system, skin, lungs, respiratory tracts, and joints. Much of these benefits come from the volatile compounds in the tea, including alpha-pinene and antioxidant tannins. However, use of this tea should be monitored carefully, and should only be prepared in the right concentrations. If you begin to feel any adverse side effects, discontinue use immediately. ^[rx]

• Immune System – Sassafras tea has been traditionally used in small amounts to treat the symptoms of cold and flu. It can help reduce nasal congestion and relieve inflammation in the sinus cavities and throat. ^[rx]
• Skin Health – The antibacterial and antiseptic properties of this tea make it effective for skin health. It can aid in the elimination of eczema, psoriasis, and other inflammatory issues when consumed in low to moderate amounts.
• Detoxify the Body – As a liver stimulant, sassafras tea can help the body to sweat and detoxify faster, which can further eliminate toxins through the skin. This tea also functions as a great diuretic, meaning that it speeds up urination, which is when excess toxins, fats, salt, and water can be flushed out of the body. For this reason, sassafras tea is also known to boost kidney health when consumed responsibly. ^[rx]
• Break Fevers – One of the classic uses of this tea is for stubborn fevers that don’t seem to break. Traditional medicine practitioners have been relying on the anti-inflammatory properties of sassafras tea for generations when they need to break a fever and start the healing process.
• Improves Digestion – Small amounts of sassafras tea can help ease digestion by reducing inflammation in the gut and digestive tracts, while also helping regulate your bowel movements, meaning that it can eliminate both diarrhea and constipation. ^[rx]
• Improves Circulation – Sassafras tea has an anticoagulant nature to it that helps with thinning the blood, making it less likely for you to suffer from blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. While this can be dangerous if you are planning on having surgery or are recovering from an injury, keeping your bloodstream clot-free is usually a very good thing. ^[rx]
• Acts as a diuretic – Sassafras is thought to have natural diuretic properties (rx). Diuretics are substances that increase your urine production, helping your body excrete water and salt (rx). Diuretics are often used to treat issues like high blood pressure and fluid retention, especially in those who have chronic kidney disease ( rx). Some people also use natural diuretics to flush out water weight and prevent bloating. Nevertheless, more research is needed to determine if sassafras tea has these effects.
• May protect against infection – Leishmaniasis is a parasitic infection that is spread by sandfly bites. It’s common in the tropics, subtropics, and certain areas of Southern Europe (rx). Interestingly, specific compounds in sassafras are thought to help treat it. One test-tube study found that sassafras bark extract had anti-leishmaniasis activity against promastigotes — the form of the parasite when it enters the skin of a host (rx). Still, keep in mind that this study used a concentrated amount of a compound isolated from sassafras. Additional studies are needed to evaluate if sassafras has anti-leishmaniasis properties in humans or may help treat other parasitic infections.

How to Make Sassafras Tea?

Methods 1

Sassafras tea can be prepared quite easily at home, and only requires sassafras root, a pot of boiling water, and a strainer, as well as honey or sweetener to enhance the flavor. Take a look at the recipe below.

Side Effects of Sassafras Tea

There are a number of serious side effects that can result from drinking sassafras tea, including the following: ^[rx]

• Sweating
• High blood pressure
• Vomiting
• Rashes
• Hallucinations
• Chronic diseases
• Liver damage
• Miscarriages

Safrole, one of the primary active ingredients in sassafras, is known to be a carcinogen, meaning that it could increase your risk of cancer. In fact, concentrated sassafras oil and sassafras extract can be significantly harmful when consumed in even moderate quantities. While sassafras tea is not nearly as strong, it is still quite powerful, and long-term use is not encouraged.

Pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children should avoid using sassafras tea, as it can cause miscarriages for pregnant women, and can cause severe side effects in children.

If you are having surgery, drinking sassafras tea can be very dangerous. It slows down the nervous system, which provides some of its health benefits. But in conjunction with anesthesia, the amount of safrole found in this tea can give way to major complications, and even prove fatal.

Only use sassafras tea in extremely limited quantities, and only with permission from a trained medical practitioner, who can ensure that it won’t have negative interactions with any other prescriptions or medications you may be using.