Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

A Sexy Reputation

Family: Liliaceae; (includes Lily)

Genus and Species: Smilax Officinalis, S. Febrifuga, and other Smilax species

Also known as: Mexican, Vera Cruz, Honduran, Jamaican, American, and Ecuadoran Sarsaparilla

Parts used: Rhizome and roots

You probably thought the cowboy asked the saloon keeper to “Give me a sarsaparilla” because he didn’t want whiskey. But cowboys who ordered sarsaparilla
usually had more than refreshment in mind. The herb was among the most widely used 19th-century treatments for syphilis, and cowboys often ordered it after visiting the local brothel.

Scientists now say sarsaparilla has no benefit against syphilis, and many dismiss the herb as medically useless. But studies suggest it may have some benefit as a diuretic.

Linked to Syphilis

The ancient Greeks and Romans considered European sarsaparilla an antidote to poisons. But the herb was not popular in herbal Healing until the 16th century, when Spanish explorers discovered the Caribbean species, a prickly (zana) vine (parra) that was small (il1a). That description became our word sarsaparilla. Caribbean and North American Indians used the herb to treat skin conditions, urinary complaints, and as a tonic to keep one young and vigorous, both physically and sexually.

In 1494 an epidemic of unusually virulent syphilis swept Europe, killing thousands, rather like the AIDS epidemic today. Europeans considered the disease an import from the New World, and they looked to herbs from across the Atlantic to treat it. They focused on sarsaparilla.

The conquistadors began shipping Mexican sarsaparilla back to Spain around 1530, and by 1600 it was widely used throughout Europe as a strengthening tonic and treatment for syphilis. Sarsaparilla and syphilis have been entwined ever since.

Sarsaparilla enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity.

Seventeenth-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper called it the treatment of choice for “the French disease,” the English name for syphilis. Echoing the ancients, he wrote: “If the i uice of the berries be given to a new-born child, it shall never be hurt by poison.” Culpeper also recommended sarsaparilla for eye problems, head colds, gas pains, pimples, and “all manner of aches in the sinews or joints.”

By 1800, many physicians denounced sarsaparilla as completely ineffective against syphilis, but their words fell on deaf ears. Mid-19th-century trade records indicate Britain imported upward of 150,000 pounds a year, much of it for treatment of syphilis.

“Blood Purifier”

In 19th-century America, sexually transmitted diseases were never mentioned in polite conversation. Nonetheless, syphilis was quite prevalent, and physicians experimented with many herbs and patent medicines to treat it. These treatments were known euphemistically as “blood purifiers.” One of the most popular was Ayer’s sarsaparilla, marketed for “disorders of the liver, stomach, kidneys, as well as tuberculosis, tumors, rheumatism, female weakness, sterility, pimples, and syphilis”.

Sarsaparilla was listed in the US. Pharmacopoeia as a syphilis treatment from 1820 to 1882, but after the Civil War, the anti-sarsaparilla bandwagon gained momentum, and by the late 19th century, most physicians dismissed it as worthless.

Although there is no scientific research to back up these traditional uses, contemporary herbalists continue to recommend sarsaparilla for colds, coughs, fevers, and gout. Some say it contains the male sex hormone testosterone. None recommend it for syphilis.