Poison Ivy

Sassafras, Sassafras albidum

All areas

Uses for

Insect bites, skin problems, sprains when bark is applied directly to skin.

Safrole

C10H10O2

Despite serious safety concerns, sassafras is used for urinary tract disorders, swelling in the nose and throat, syphilis, bronchitis, high blood pressure in older people, gout,arthritis, skin problems, and cancer. It is also used as a tonic and “blood purifier.”

Some people apply sassafras directly to the skin to treat skin problems, achy joints (rheumatism), swollen eyes, sprains, and insect bites or stings. Sassafras oil is also applied to the skin to kill germs and head lice.

In beverages and candy, sassafras was used in the past to flavor root beer. It was also used as a tea. But sassafras tea contains a lot of safrole, the chemical in sassafras that makes it poisonous. One cup of tea made with 2.5 grams of sassafras contains about 200 mg of safrole. That equates to a dose of about 3 mg of safrole per 1 kg ofbody weight. This is about 4.5 times the dose that researchers think is poisonous. So, in 1976, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that sassafras could no longer be sold as sassafras tea.

http://medicinalherbinfo.org/herbs/Sassafras.html

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/14380316_Chemical_of_essential_oil_from_the_root_bark_of_Sassafras_albidum