Herb library · Herb · Smilax species (including S. ornata, Jamaican sarsaparilla)
Sarsaparilla
The root of a prickly tropical vine that grows along Jamaican riverbanks. It was a celebrated remedy in the 1700s and 1800s and is still sold as a root tea and capsules, but no clinical trials of it in people were found, and it is one of the most often mislabeled herbs on the market.
Traditional use
Jamaican sarsaparilla root is a folk remedy for rheumatism and joint pain. Culpeper's herbal lists it among the "diet drinks" given to bring on a sweat, and Jamaican planters supplied their estates with great quantities of it for yaws and venereal disease. Sold today as root tea and capsules.
Traditional energetics
Galenic (hot or cold, dry or moist)
Hot and dry. Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 226 (opens in a new tab)
What studies show
No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.
- Insufficient
Joint pain and inflammation: Jamaican sarsaparilla extracts reduced swelling and pain responses in rats. No trial in people was found in the sources reviewed here.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteSarsaparilla has been reported as one of the most adulterated herbal products: some products contain other plants sold under the same trade name, including a threatened Indian species.
- PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found in the sources used here. Talk with your clinician first.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“Sarsaparilla delights in low moist grounds and near the banks of rivers. In such places it thrives well in Jamaica.”
“Sir William Fordyce seems to think sarsaparilla a specific in all stages of lues; but, from an attentive and careful observation of its effects in some thousands of cases, I must declare I could place no dependance on sarsaparilla alone.”
Sources
- Investigation of the anti-inflammatory and the analgesic effects of the extracts from Smilax ornata Lem. (Jamaican sarsaparilla) plant (J Ethnopharmacol, 2019) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Genome skimming and NMR chemical fingerprinting provide quality assurance biotechnology to validate Sarsaparilla identity and purity (Sci Rep, 2020) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.