Smilax ornata

This article is about the sarsaparilla plant used in root beer. For the Indian sarsaparilla, see Hemidesmus indicus.

Smilax ornata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Liliales
Family:	Smilacaceae
Genus:	Smilax
Species:	S. ornata
Binomial name
Smilax ornata Lem.
Synonyms [1]
Smilax grandifoliaRegel 1856, not Buckley 1843 nor Voigt 1845 nor Poepp. ex A. DC. 1878 Smilax ornataHook. 1889 not Lem. 1865 [2] Smilax regeliiKillip & C.V.Morton Smilax utilisHemsl. 1899, not C.H. Wright 1895

Smilax ornata is a perennial trailing vine with prickly stems that is native to Mexico and Central America. ^[3] Common names include sarsaparilla, ^[4] Honduran sarsaparilla, ^[4] and Jamaican sarsaparilla. ^[4]

It is known in Spanish as zarzaparrilla , which is derived from the words zarza meaning "bramble" (from Basque sartzia "bramble"), and parrilla , meaning "little grape vine". ^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

Uses

Food

Smilax ornata is used as the basis for a soft drink known as sarsaparilla. It is also a primary ingredient in old fashioned-style licorice, ^[10] in conjunction with sassafras, ^[11] which was more widely available prior to studies of its potential health risks.^{[ citation needed ]}

Traditional medicine

Smilax ornata was considered by Native Americans to have medicinal properties, and was a popular European treatment for syphilis when it was introduced from the New World. ^[12] From 1820 to 1910, it was registered in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia as a treatment for syphilis.^{[ citation needed ]}

Chemical constituents gallery

• 
  Triterpenes, a constituent of sarsaparilla
• 
  Sarsaparilloside, a constituent of sarsaparilla
• 
  Sarsaparilla R1, a constituent of sarsaparilla
• 
  Sarsaparilla R2, a constituent of sarsaparilla
• 
  Parillin, a constituent of sarsaparilla

See also

• Hemidesmus indicus , Indian sarsaparilla
• Aralia nudicaulis , wild sarsaparilla or false sarsaparilla
• Sweet sarsaparilla ( Smilax glyciphylla ), a vine native to eastern Australia ^[13]

References

1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species" . Retrieved 12 August 2014.
2. "Tropicos.org" . Retrieved 11 August 2014.
3. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
4. "Smilax ornata". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 11 August 2014.
5. Sarsaparilla
6. Davidse, G. & al. (eds.) (1994). Flora Mesoamericana 6: 1–543. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.
7. Balick, M.J., Nee, M.H. & Atha, D.E. (2000). Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Belize with Common Names an Uses: 1-246. New York Botanic Garden Press, New York.
8. Espejo Serena, A. & López-Ferrari, A.R. (2000). Las Monocotiledóneas Mexicanas una Sinopsis Florística 1(9-11): 1–337. Consejo Nacional de la Flora de México, México D.F.
9. Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
10. Encyclopædia Britannica. "sarsaparilla (flavouring) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
11. Era, P (1893). The era formulary: 5000 formulas for druggists. A collection of original and prize formulas, to which has been added a selection of formulas from standard authorities in the English, French and German ... D. O. Haynes & company. p. 400. ISBN   978-1-145-42702-0.
12. Wilson, H. (22 April 1843). "Sarsaparilla in Syphilis". Provincial Medical Journal and Retrospect of the Medical Sciences. 6 (134): 71. doi:10.1136/bmj.s1-6.134.71. PMC   2557820 . PMID   21379157.
13. "PlantNET – FloraOnline". Plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 15 July 2010.

External links

• Whatever happened to the soft drink sarsaparilla? Cecil Adams, 1977