Aspartame: The Sins of the Fathers Passed Down

[NotHardUp1]

Sassafras is poisonous.

I'm not sure what it's poisonous effect is. Maybe it's mildly so, like pumpkin seeds.

Gumbo file is made from sassafras leaves, yet is heavily used in Cajun cooking.

 

[Alistair]

I'm not sure what it's poisonous effect is. Maybe it's mildly so, like pumpkin seeds.

Gumbo file is made from sassafras leaves, yet is heavily used in Cajun cooking.

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. This is about 4.5 times the dose that researchers think is poisonous.

It may be just the root and bark used to make tea, and the way it’s concentrated.

 

[Alistair]

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. This is about 4.5 times the dose that researchers think is poisonous.

It may be just the root and bark used to make tea, and the way it’s concentrated.

The safrole in sassafras root bark and oil can cause cancer and liver damage. Consuming just 5 mL of sassafras oil can kill an adult. Sassafras can cause sweating and hot flashes. High amounts can cause vomiting, high blood pressure, hallucinations, and other severe side effects.

 

[NotHardUp1]

Interestingly, sassafras was the first known carcinogen from plants discovered, yet it still took many decades to ban it.

I think it was known around the beginning of the 20th century that it caused cancer.