sarsaparilla

sarsaparilla
/sas'peuh ril"euh, sahr'seuh peuh-, sahr'speuh-/, n.
1. any of various climbing or trailing tropical American plants belonging to the genus Smilax, of the lily family, having alternate leaves, umbels of flowers, and a root that has been used in the treatment of psoriasis.
2. the root.
3. an extract or other preparation made of this root.
4. a soft drink flavored with an extract of this root, as root beer.
[1570-80; < Sp zarzaparrilla, equiv. to zarza bush + parrilla (parr(a) vine + -illa dim. suffix)]

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Aromatic flavouring agent originally made from the dried roots of several tropical smilax vines.

Native to the southern and western coasts of Mexico to Peru, the plants are large, perennial, climbing or trailing vines with short, thick, underground stems that produce many prickly, angular, aboveground stems supported by tendrils. Once a popular tonic, sarsaparilla now is blended with wintergreen and other flavours and used in root beer and other carbonated beverages, or to flavour and mask the taste of medicines. In North America, the strongly aromatic roots of the wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) and false, or bristly, sarsaparilla (A. hispida), of the ginseng family, are sometimes substituted for true sarsaparilla.

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 aromatic flavouring agent made from the roots of several tropical vines belonging to the Smilax genus of the lily family (Liliaceae). Once a popular tonic, sarsaparilla is now used to flavour and mask the taste of medicines. In combination with wintergreen and other flavours it is used in root beer and other carbonated beverages.

      The sarsaparilla plants (Spanish zarza, “bramble,” and parrilla, “little vine”) are native to the southern and western coasts of Mexico to Peru. They are large, perennial, climbing or trailing vines with short, thick, underground stems producing many prickly, angular, aboveground stems. These are supported by tendrils springing from the bases of large, alternate, stalked leaves.

      The commercial species providing sarsaparilla are principally Smilax aristolochiaefolia, S. regelii, and S. febrifuga, respectively known as Mexican, Honduran, and Ecuadorian sarsaparillas. Other commercial Smilax species include Ecuadorian (Guayaquil) and Central American (Jamaican or Guatemalan). After drying in the sun, the roots are gathered loosely into bundles or bound tightly into cylinders, depending on the place of origin, and then exported.

      Several sterols and a crystalline glycoside, sarsaponin, which yields sarsapogenin on hydrolysis, have been isolated from the root. Sarsapogenin is related to steroids such as progesterone and is used in their synthesis.

      In North America the strongly aromatic roots of the wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) and false or bristly sarsaparilla (Aralia hispida) are sometimes substituted for true sarsaparilla.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • sarsaparilla — [sas΄pə ril′ə, särs΄pə ril′ə; sär΄səril′ə] n. [Sp zarzaparrilla < zarza, bramble + parrilla, dim. of parra, vine] 1. any of a number of tropical American, spiny, woody vines (genus Smilax) of the lily family, with large, fragrant roots and… …   English World dictionary

  • Sarsaparilla — Sar sa*pa*ril la, n. [Sp. zarzaparrilla; zarza a bramble (perhaps fr. Bisc. zartzia) + parra a vine, or Parillo, a physician said to have discovered it.] (Bot.) (a) Any plant of several tropical American species of {Smilax}. (b) The bitter… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sarsaparilla — Sarsaparilla, 1) Sassaparille; Sarsaparillae radix (Sarsae radix, Sarsaparillwurzel), s. ebd.; 2) Deutsche S., so v.w. Carex arenaria …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • sarsaparilla — tropical American plant, 1570s, from Sp. zarzaparrilla, from zarza bramble (from Arabic sharas thorny plant or Basque sartzia bramble ) + parrilla, dim. of parra vine, of unknown origin. In 16c. 17c. the dried roots were held to be efficient in… …   Etymology dictionary

  • sarsaparilla — ► NOUN 1) a preparation of the dried roots of various plants, used to flavour drinks and medicines and formerly as a tonic. 2) a sweet drink flavoured with this. ORIGIN Spanish zarzaparilla, from zarza bramble + parra vine …   English terms dictionary

  • Sarsaparilla — Taxobox color = lightgreen divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Liliopsida ordo = Liliales familia = Smilacaceae genus = Smilax species = S. regelii binomial = Smilax regelii binomial authority = Killip Morton synonyms = Smilax ornata Hook.f.: For… …   Wikipedia

  • sarsaparilla — /saspəˈrɪlə / (say sahspuh riluh) noun 1. any of various climbing or trailing plants of the widely distributed genus Smilax, having a root which has been much used in medicine as an alterant. 2. Also, native sarsaparilla. any of several plants,… …  

  • sarsaparilla — Regelio sarsaparilis statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Sarsaparilinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, prieskoninis, vaistinis augalas (Smilax regelii), paplitęs Centrinėje ir Pietų Amerikoje. Iš jo gaminami maisto priedai (kvėpikliai). atitikmenys: lot …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • sarsaparilla — noun Etymology: Spanish zarzaparrilla, from zarza bush + parrilla, diminutive of parra vine Date: 1577 1. a. any of various tropical American greenbriers b. the dried roots of a sarsaparilla used especially as a flavoring 2. any of various plants …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • sarsaparilla — The dried root of Smilax aristolochiaefolia (Mexican s.), S. regelii (Honduras s.), S. febrifuga (Ecuadorian s.), or of undetermined species of Smilax (family Liliaceae), a thorny vine widely distributed throughout the tropical and semitropical… …   Medical dictionary

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