
SARSAPARILLA CORDIAL
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Try quaffing Sarsaparilla with chilled
lemonade, soda water, spring water or coca-cola.
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For a really unusual taste try adding it to milk.
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Some brave souls even drink it as a cream liqueur.
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Try it with hot water in Winter.
This full flavoured drink came originally from the West
Indies. It was reputed to purify the blood and balance
the hormones. In North America it was used to flavour root beer
and even named a beverage toward the end of the last century.
Farther south, however, it has been used for hundreds of
years as a tonic and to treat various sexual maladies.
The former may be explained by an infection-fighting phytohormone
(plant-based hormone) that resembles cortisone.
Native
Americans used this herb as a rejuvenating tonic.
Sarsaparilla
(Smilax officinalis Liliaceae)
Habitat: The plants are climbing vines native to tropical
America and the West Indies.
Collection: The roots and rhizome can be unearthed throughout
the year. Part Used: Root and rhizome.
Sarsaparilla, a perennial vine with prickly stems, contains
saponins, the flavour and foaming ingredient added to root
beer and other soft drinks. Sarsaparilla contains calcium,
copper, iron, iodine, silicon, manganese, potassium, sodium,
sulfur, vitamin A, vitamin C, B-complex and vitamin D.
Medicinal Action and Uses
Used for hundreds of years by both American
and Chinese herbalists to treat syphilis, sarsaparilla
is a popular herb used today to promote glandular balance.
It may be used to aid proper functioning of the body as
a whole and in the correction of such diffuse systemic
problems as skin and rheumatic conditions. it is particularly
useful in scaling skin conditions such as psoriasis, especially
where there is much irritation.
Sarsaparilla supports the body by purifying the blood,
cleansing the colon and urinary tract, treating various
skin problems, and lowering blood pressure. Sarsaparilla
reduces fevers by helping cool down the body and promoting
perspiration. (diaphoretic)
Sarsaparilla has also been known to increase circulation
to the joints, reducing inflammation caused by arthritis
and rheumatism. (anti-rheumatic)
As a diuretic, Sarsaparilla may assist with weight loss
programs stimulating the body's metabolic process, increasing
urination and reducing water retention. (diuretic)
It has been shown that Sarsaparilla contains constituents
with properties that aid testosterone activity in the body.
For psoriasis it will combine well with Burdock, YellowDock
and Cleavers.
Constituents
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Saponins, based on the aglycones sarsapogenin and smilagenin;
the major one being parillin (=sarsaponin), with Smilasaponin
(= smilacin) and sarsaparilloside
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FIbetaII-sitosterol, stigmasterol and their glucosides.
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