Is sassafras carcinogenic?

Asked by lapilofu (4325

) November 3rd, 2010

I want to brew some homemade root beer, but apparently sassafras is potentially a carcinogen? The studies seem pretty inconclusive about whether it actually causes cancer in humans, but it was enough for the FDA to make it a controlled substance. Anyone knowledgeable about these sorts of things: should I actually be worried or should I just go ahead and do it?

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7 Answers

I learned in my herbal medicine class that it was indeed carcinogenic. Im sorry I dont have more info than that though, I never ever really looked into it. But if your indeed looking to brew root beer there are plenty of other things you can use aside from sassafras and still make an amazing root beer. I’d try following virgils recipe. You could also use sarsaparilla, that tastes pretty good.

El_Cadejo (34610

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I suspect the risk was exaggerated to justify the control of it, which is more likely to be due to its potential as a precursor in the manufacture of MDMA.

The_Idler (9613

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