The word Sarsaparilla, or ‘Zarzaparilla’ comes from the Spanish ‘Zarza’, meaning a bramble, and ‘parilla’, a vine. It is a woody vine that grows up to 50 m long, and produces small flowers in black, blue or red berry-like fruits. It is the tuberous root, which is odourless and tasteless, that is used for medicinal purposes.

Sarsaparilla became popular in Europe in the mid 1500’s, and was traded mainly through Jamaica into Europe. It was prized as highly medicinal with many healthy properties. Antique Sarsaparilla bottles can now be bought on the internet! It has many properties. Detoxifying, pain relief, blood cleansing and helps to stimulate digestion. It has also been used for the treatment of arthritis and the common cold. Sexual impotence, syphilis, gonorrhoea, rheumatism, wounds , fever, coughs, hypertension, digestive disorders, skin diseases, and cancer. There are no known side-effects for Sarsaparilla, however, ingestion of large dosages may cause gastrointestinal irritation.

Sarsaparilla is becoming more widely available in health food stores, as well as tablets, capsules, and tincture products. Most of the Sarsaparilla root used commercially today comes from Mexico and Latin America as well as China.