It is probably the only spice tree that originated in North America, and the Indians already used it as a medicinal plant and aphrodisiac. Opinions are divided on the sassafras tree and its aromatic essential oils: some consider it a poisonous plant, while others love it as a medicinal plant that is even said to have a psychoactive effect.
Occurrence and cultivation of sassafras
The sassafras tree belongs to the laurel family and is also known as clove cinnamon tree, fever tree or fennel wood tree. The sassafras tree (lat. Sassafras albidum) belongs to the laurel family and is also known by the names clove cinnamon tree, fever tree or fennelwood tree. It grows in regions along the North American Atlantic coast from Canada to northern Florida, but is also found in the Venezuelan jungle. Sassafras albidum is not restricted to any particular habitat. At elevations between 0 and 1500 meters, it thrives in forests as well as eroded areas, fallow and ruderal (raw) ground. The deciduous tree, which grows up to 30 meters in favorable conditions, has alternate leaves, which are quite variable in shape. Its bark is gray and deeply grooved, remaining green only on the outer branches at first. In the period from April to May, before the leaves sprout, the sassafras develops small, greenish yellow inflorescences. Female and male flowers grow on different trees. The tree’s fruits are oval, pea-sized and dark blue when ripe. Its foliage takes on a reddish-gold color in the fall.
Effect and application
The bark, root wood and fruit of the sassafras tree contain about one to two percent essential oil. The main component of this oil is safrole, with a content of up to 80 percent; in addition, camphor, pinene and eugenol are present, as well as various alkaloids, tannins, lignans and resin. Sassafras oil can be extracted from the plant parts by steam distillation and was formerly used in natural medicine for its diaphoretic, digestive and analgesic properties. Sassafras is also said to have blood purifying, diuretic and anti-rheumatic effects. In higher doses, the essential oil has a strong stimulating effect, possibly even altering perception. An overdose leads to drowsiness and vomiting and can also damage the liver and kidneys. A tea made from sassafras leaves is less harmful, since the dosage is much lower. Extracts from the plant are included in rheumatism baths and rheumatism ointments, and the oil also helps against insect bites. Aromatherapy uses it in fragrance lamps, and [[homeopathy9]] uses sassafras officinalis in the form of globules and dilutions of various potencies. Because of its pleasant fragrance, sassafras oil is also traditionally used to flavor food and tobacco. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the hot drink “Saloop” was very popular in England, which contained sassafras roots as its main ingredient and was said to have a blood purifying effect. The popular American root beer, on the other hand, now uses only flavors of the plant, since sassafras is considered carcinogenic according to recent findings. In Creole cuisine, the ground leaves of the clove cinnamon tree traditionally play an important role as a spice and for thickening soups. As so-called filé powder, they are a typical ingredient of the classic stew gumbo. Sassafras is also found in cosmetic products such as soaps and oral care products. The oil extracted from the tree’s fruit is used as a fragrance in the manufacture of perfumes. Because safrole also provides a raw material for the production of the drug MDMA, trade in sassafras extracts is banned in the EU.
Health significance, treatment, and prevention.
The sassafras tree was sacred to many Native American peoples even in pre-Columbian times, because they obtained from it a medicine that was equivalent to a love drug. For them, the great power of the tree was that it kindled the emotional fire of love and at the same time energized the corresponding “physical tools.” The Indians used all parts of the plant for their medicinal and ritual purposes. Thus, they added the dried root bark to their tobacco blends, while they boiled the root pulp and used it as a narcotic. According to legend, the intense scent of sassafras even led Columbus to America.The first settlers and later the blacks adopted the Indian love tree in their own folk medicine and it was probably the first medicinal herb to find its way from America to Europe. In Creole cuisine, the ground leaves of the clove cinnamon tree traditionally play an important role as a spice and for thickening soups. Here, traditional folk medicine used the oil of the fennelwood tree primarily to treat gout, rheumatism, and arthritis, as well as inflammation of the urethra and bladder. It also helped with gastrointestinal complaints, menstrual pain, gonorrhea and syphilis. Sassafras oil was also used for abortion purposes – so it should never be taken if pregnancy is desired. The name sassafras has evolved from the Latin “saxum fragans”, which means “breaking stones”. It recalls the use of the active ingredient for kidney stones, which, however, is obsolete today. In general, the use of safrole is now considered questionable because of its carcinogenic (that is, carcinogenic), liver and nerve damaging effects. The use of the bark and roots of the tree is therefore discouraged; only the dried leaves and the filé powder obtained from them, with their significantly lower safrole content, are still considered safe. The permissible amount of safrole in cosmetic products containing sassafras is also limited by law. In the case of children, the use of such products should be avoided altogether. Aromatherapy uses sassafras essential oil – vaporized in a fragrance lamp with water – for mental weakness, listlessness, to aid smoking cessation and to boost energy.
