- Region
- North America
- Origin
- Eastern North America
North America · Herb · № 633
Sassafras albidum
Herb · North America
Sassafras
Sassafras albidum
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind, dampness and cold in joint complaints, also when heat is involved, moves the blood in stasis after trauma or in absent menstruation, and is used for itchy skin.
Safety notes
Toxic or risky: contains safrole, which is carcinogenic and liver-damaging in animals. Safrole is banned as a food additive in the EU and the US and is a regulated raw material for drugs. Do not use internally yourself, certainly not for long periods, and never take the essential oil internally. Deliberately no dosage is given here. Not during pregnancy. Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.
Cautions by tradition (3)
- Western herbs in Chinese medicine: Contains safrole (carcinogenic in animals): do not use internally yourself; never take the oil internally.
- Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine: Contains safrole: not internally and not in pregnancy.
- Cherokee (Tsalagi) medicine: Contains safrole; do not take it for long and not in pregnancy.
Preparation
Root bark as an infusion, light decoction or tincture, internally or externally. Deliberately no dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
A native tree of eastern North America. The root bark was long a well-known 'blood-purifying' remedy and the flavouring of root beer.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Western herbs in Chinese medicine
- Nature and taste
- pungent, bitter, warm, aromatic
- Meridians
- lung, liver, stomach
Attributed effects
Disperses cold, dampness and wind in joint complaints; mobile and penetrating, and therefore also usable when heat is involved (heat arising from stagnation disappears when the stagnation resolves). For itchy skin from wind and dampness. Moves the blood in stasis after trauma, in blockages and in absent menstruation, internally or externally.
Preparation and amount
Good dried root bark is rust-brown and strongly fragrant; some dust after processing is normal. The book mentions only short-term use.
Combinations
- With Oregon grape root, sarsaparilla and red clover for stubborn skin complaints with heat
- With California figwort, Oregon grape root and burdock for joint complaints from wind, dampness and heat
- With wintergreen, yerba mansa and Brewer's angelica for wind-damp-cold
Caution: Contains safrole (carcinogenic in animals): do not use internally yourself; never take the oil internally.
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine
Attributed effects
To cleanse the blood; the eyewash for inflamed eyes.
Preparation and amount
Boil the root bark briefly; the pith of a twig in water as an eyewash.
Caution: Contains safrole: not internally and not in pregnancy.
Cherokee (Tsalagi) medicine
Attributed effects
To purify the blood, for colds, diarrhoea, rheumatism and skin diseases, for worms in children, as a wash for sore eyes, and chewing the root against the smell of ramps.
Preparation and amount
A tea of the root bark.
Caution: Contains safrole; do not take it for long and not in pregnancy.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)DecoctionTincture