Can Sassafrass Cause Cancer?

[Dreamer]

I read in a fairly new book about herbs and stuff "Magic and Medicine
of Plants" (Reader's Digest thing) .. It said something about
Sassafrass "The US Food and Drug Administration lists sassafras oil as
"unsafe" because of determinations that the safrole in the oil is a
potential carcinogen" (Carcinogen - Cancer Causing Agent.. ) .. does
this go the same for the tea? Is the tea safe?

[Baird Stafford]

According to Coon, safrole is a potent inhibitor of certain liver enymes (or
so it is claimed). Nothing in any of my sources, however, indicates how *much*
safrole was fed to the lab animals at one time (I assume it was done that way:
the
experience of the American public with saccharin comes immediately to mind).
Perhaps one of the professionals on the group can tell us more.
__
Baird Stafford (bsta...@bstafford.ess.harris.com)

[rha...@charlie.usd.edu]

In _The Way of Herbs_ by Micheal Tierra, he says that safrole, when isolated
and fed to rats and mice, did result in the formation of liver tumors.
However, he cites a 1977 Swiss study in which sassafras was given my mouth to
humans, and it did not metabolize into 1'-hydroxysafrole, which is the
metabolist that makes safrole carcinogenic. His conclusion is that there is
something in whole sassafras that prevents it from causing cancer in people.
He also states that safrole is found in many other common foods such as basil,
nutmeg, and black pepper.

IMHO, the Reader's Digest book expresses a very patronizing attitude towards
herbal medicine. I understand that such a widely read publisher must be
cautious about what harm people might cause with a little, but not nearly
enough knowledge about medicinal herbs. However, I found the constant warnings
about almost every herb to be a bit much. Sassafras is a prime example.
There's an awful lot of people out there who drink sassafras as a beverage (not
medicinally) who enjoy it and seem to be in excellent health. Most people, if
they use their common sense, even when using herbs medicinally, will not overdo
or misuse them, just as most people are able to responsibly handle
over-the-counter drugs. It's good to be careful, but no need to be paranoid.
Besides, if a person could manage to avoid every potentially carcinogenic or otherwise harmful compound, you'd have
to live a terribly isolated and boring life!!!

---Renee
rha...@charlie.usd.edu

[Dreamer]

In article <CFznM...@jabba.ess.harris.com>, Baird Stafford <bsta...@bstafford.ess.harris.com> writes:

Hmm.. Would the tea be the same? It says "in the oil of the bark on
the root"..

[Dreamer]

Hmm. I think I am going to trust you out of all those replys. When
is the best time to dig up the roots to make tea?

Thank you for all the info.