To many Australians sarsaparilla is a uniquely flavoured, old-fashioned soft drink which is sold under the brand name SARS. That is SARS as in "sarsaparilla" not SARS the lethal virus, bringing into question the old adage that ‘any publicity is good publicity’. Strangely enough, sales of this soft drink actually increased during the SARS epidemic, with a BBC news website reporting that some people were asking, “Is this a medicine for SARS or protection against SARS?”. 

However, despite this PR nightmare, the Smilax species have a long history in folk medicine for the treatment of inflammation. A build-up of toxins in the body is linked to inflammation and this species promotes the elimination of toxic waste. The native people of the Amazon area know sarsaparilla as a blood cleanser (alterative) and have traditionally used it to re-establish virility in men, to treat the symptoms of menopause in women, for urinary complaints and as a cough remedy. The late Dorothy Hall said for teenage acne sarsaparilla is often prescribed with liver regulators like dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum)…”If you still ‘break out’ on the face before a period, or suffer spotty eruptions around the neck and the hairline past the twenties, sarsaparilla may be needed to help your hormones ‘decide’ on their levels of production." 

Sarsaparilla’s most enduring recommendations have been for rheumatism and psoriasis. It is particularly useful when there is a lot of irritation. Sarsaparilla was extensively studied as a treatment for psoriasis in the early 20th century prior to the development of many of the steroidal type drugs in common use today. The studies were not nearly as rigorously constructed as modern trials but they show some compelling evidence nevertheless. This is especially persuasive given how difficult it is to successfully treat psoriasis. Two to three months of treatment were commonly required but more than 50% of the people suffering from psoriasis improved when given large daily doses of sarsaparilla extracts. The patients who received the most benefit had chronic plaque psoriasis.

References

Eslick GD. SARS in a can! The Medical Journal of Australia. 6 Dec 2004 https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb06477.x

Tian L-W, Zhang Z, Long H-L, Zhang Y-J. Steroidal Saponins from the Genus Smilax and Their Biological Activities. Natural Products and Bioprospecting. 2017;7(4):283-298. doi:10.1007/s13659-017-0139-5.

Hall D. Dorothy Hall’s Herbal Medicine. Sydney:Lothian. 1988. p. 273.

Thurmon FM. The Treatment of Psoriasis with a Sarsaparilla Compound. July 23, 1942. N Engl J Med 1942; 227:128-133

Echinacea can safely prevent respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and associated complications, thereby decreasing the demand for antibiotics an April 2024 study has concluded. The results also support the beneficial effects of long-term, preventative echinacea supplementation. Despite medical advances RTIs are still the most frequent illnesses worldwide and are the leading cause of antibiotic prescriptions, primarily due to the risk for secondary bacterial infections. Approximately one-third of all RTIs affect children below five years of age, of which a disproportionally high number of 0.7 million cases are lethal. A higher fatality rate is also reported for elderly people and immunocompromised patients (these numbers do not account for the recent COVID-19 pandemic).

The prevention of RTIs may be achieved by taking echinacea species as antiviral and immunomodulatory actions have been reported. Recent literature has found a wide spectrum of activity for alcoholic extracts against enveloped respiratory viruses, including influenza viruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2. Clinical benefits manifest not only in a reduced risk of RTIs but also of RTI relapses and secondary complications.

In the systematic review and meta-analysis a comprehensive search identified 30 clinical trials (39 comparisons) studying echinacea for the prevention or treatment of RTIs in 5652 subjects. Echinacea significantly reduced the monthly RTI occurrence, risk ratio and number of patients with RTIs. Echinacea reduced the risk of recurrent infections, RTI complications and the need for antibiotic therapy, with total antibiotic therapy days reduced by 70%. 

References

Gancitano G, Mucci N, Stange R, Ogal M, Vimalanathan S, Sreya M, Booker A, Hadj-Cherif B, Albrich WC, Woelkart-Ardjomand K, Kreft S, Vanden Berghe W, Hoexter G, Schapowal A, Johnston SL. Echinacea Reduces Antibiotics by Preventing Respiratory Infections: A Meta-Analysis (ERA-PRIMA). Antibiotics (Basel). 2024 Apr 16;13(4):364. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics13040364. PMID: 38667040; PMCID: PMC11047471.