benefits of sassafras bark
Traditional Use and Health Benefits. Sassafras is a root bark from North America. It is good for skin, as it is a natural disinfectant and healing salve, it is useful in conditions of psoriasis and eczema. It makes an excellent mouthwash, and can treat head lice and bodily infestations.
Sassafras is a sturdy tree found in the bayous of Louisiana. As the tree matures, sometimes reaching a height of 100 feet (30 meters) and a trunk diameter of up to 6 feet (200 cm), the leaves grow more rounded, free of indentation. Sassafras tea, made from the root bark or just the bark, has been drunk for over three centuries in the lower Mississippi valley. Sassafras bark oil is used to flavor medicines and candy and in some perfumes.
Steam distillation of dried root bark produces an essential oil consisting mostly of safrole that once was extensively used as a fragrance in perfumes and soaps, food and for aromatherapy. The yield of this oil from American sassafras is quite low and great effort is needed to produce useful amounts of the root bark.