Smilax officinalis. S. medicia, S. ornata, S.regelii   Jamaican sarsaparilla, Sarsaparella   Family: Lillaceae  
Sarsaparilla is an ingredient of soft drinks.
S. aristolochiifolia- American, Mexican, Ver cruz or Grey sarsaparilla
S. medica and S. regelii- Jamaican, Honduras or Brown sarsaparilla
S. febrifuga- Ecuadorian or Guayaquil sarsaparilla.
Hemidesmus indicus Brown (Family Arisolichaceae) is no longer used medicinally
PART USED: Underground parts- Sold as bundles of roots and rhizomes from 60-70 cm long and 3.5 mm wide. Reddish-brown or orange brown in color.
TASTE: Bitter, sweetish and acrid   ODORLESS
ACTIONS
GROUP: The Endocrine, and Reproductive- Hormone Regulators
1. Hormone regulation.
2. Alterative.[5] Blood purifier in the form of teas.[1]
3. Antipruritic.[1,2,5] Antiinflammatory.[5]
4. Antirheumatic.[1,2]
5. Bitter tonic.
6. Antiseptic.[1,5]
7. Diuretic.[1]
INDICATIONS
1. Skin disorders generally including psoriasis.[1,2,5] - especially with irritation and heavy desquamation.[1,2]
2. Hormonal imbalances during puberty or menopause. Amenorrhea. Sexual debility.
3. Chronic rheumatism.[1,2]   Rheumatoid arthritis.[1,2] Gout. Leprosy- as an ajunct to other treatment.[1]
4. Dyspepsia.
5. Catarrh, colds.
6. Edema.
SPECIFIC INDICATIONS: Psoriasis, expecially with irritation and heavy desquamation.[1]
COMBINATIONS
- Skin complaints- use with Burdock and Yellow Dock.
PREPARATIONS  3X /day
Dried powdered underground parts  1-4 g,[1,2,5] or by decoction.[1,2]
Fluid extract (BP1898) 1:1 in 20% alcohol and 10% glycerol 8-15 ml.[1,2,5]
Fluid extract root 1:1 in 45% alcohol.[3]
Concentrated compound Sarsaprarilla decoction BPC 1949 8-30 ml.
   
ORIGIN: Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras, Peru and Jamaica. Tropical America and West Indies..
DESCRIPTION: Perennial, trailing vine with prickly stems. The roots are narrow, very long, cylindrical, up to about 6 mm in idameter and usually found in commerce folded and bound into bundles. Pieces of rhizome, if present, are much thicker and are cut. The external surface varies from greyish to yellowish or reddish brown; ridges, furrows and cars may or may not be present. The transverse section also shows highly variable features.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Research
It has been used as a diuretic, and during mercuric salt treatment of syhphilis. Salts of mercury cause uraemia as a result of their kidney-damaging action but this may be prevented by the antiuraemic action of true sarsaparilla.[1]
Sarsaparilla was first introduced to America by the Spanish in 1563 as a sure cure for syphilis.[2]
It has been used for many years as a treament for skin diseases, including psoriasis. In a study many yearas ago patients with psoriasis were treated over a two year period with "sarsaponin" tablets prepared from sarsaparilla; and improvement was noted in 62% of cases.[3]
Parillin has antibiotic activity.[4]
References
[1] R. Hegnauer, Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen, Vol.2 Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, 1963
[2] Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations  R.C. Wren Revised by Elizabeth M. Williamson and Fred J Evans. First published in Great Britain in 1988 and reprinted in 1989 and 1994 by the C. W. Daniel Company Limited. 1 Church Path, Saffron Walden Essex. Published 1988 Printed and bound by Biddles, Guildford ISBN 085207 1973.
[3] Thurmon, F.M. (1942) New Eng. J. Med. 227 (4), 128
[4] Tschersche, R. in Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Ed. H. Wagner and L. Horhammer, Pub. Springer-Verlag (1971)

Steroidal saponins from the roots of Smilax sp.: structure and bioactivity.
Challinor VL, Parsons PG, Chap S, White EF, Blanchfield JT, Lehmann RP, De Voss JJ.
Abstract
Phytochemical characterization of a commercial herb sample supplied as Smilax ornata Lem. (sarsaparilla) led to the isolation of five steroidal saponins, including two new furostanol saponins sarsaparilloside B (1) and sarsaparilloside C (2), whose structures were elucidated via a combination of multistage mass spectrometry (MS(n)), 1D and 2D NMR experiments, and chemical degradation. The previously unreported spectroscopic characterization of sarsaparilloside (3), ?(20(22))-sarsaparilloside (4), and parillin (5) is also provided. The antiproliferative activity of the isolated saponins was compared in six human cell lines derived from different tumor types and one of the structures (2) was particularly active against the HT29 colon tumor cell line.
PMID: 22285850 DOI: 10.1016/j.steroids.2012.01.009
Steroids. 2012 Apr;77(5):504-11. doi: 10.1016/j.steroids.2012.01.009. Epub 2012 Jan 21. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov