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''Smilax glyciphylla'', the sweet sarsaparilla, is a dioecious climber native to eastern Australia. It is widespread in rainforest, sclerophyll forest and woodland; mainly in coastal regions. The leaves are distinctly three-veined with a glaucous under-surface, lanceolate, 4–10 cm long by 1.5–4 cm wide. Coiling tendrils are up to 8 cm long. The globose berries are 5–8 mm diam., black with a singular seed.〔(''Smilax glyciphylla'' plant profile, PlantNET )〕 ==Uses== The sweet flavoured leaves are used medicinally〔Lassak, E.V., & McCarthy, T., ''Australian Medicinal Plants'', Methuan Australia, pp91-92, 1983, ISBN 0-454-00438-9.〕 by Aborigines and non-indigenous colonists, including as a tea substitute〔( White, J., ''Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales'', 1790 )〕 It was used medicinally in the earliest days of the colony of Port Jackson for treating scurvy, coughs and chest complaints. In correspondence to England in November 1788, Dennis Considen wrote: ''"I have sent you some of the sweet tea of this country which I recommended and is generally used by the marines and convicts as such it is a fair antiscorbutic as well as a substitute for tea which is more costly."''〔Copy of letter received by Dr Anthony Hamiltion, from Dennis Considen, 18 November, 1788, and sent onto Joseph Banks.()〕 It was recommended as a tea alternative, tonic and antiscorbutic, and was still being traded at least up until the late 19th Century by Sydney herbalists. 〔 Maiden, J.H., ''The Useful Plants of Australia'', 1889, p203.〕 It is claimed to have similar properties to Jamaican sarsaparilla, ''Smilax regelii''. The leaves, stems, and flowers contain the glycoside glyciphyllin, which has a bitter-sweet taste and may be the active medicinal component.〔Rennie, E.H., Glyciphyllin, the sweet principle of Smilax glyciphylla, ''Journal of the Chemical Society Journal Transactions'', 49, 1886. 〕〔 Maiden, J.H., ''The Useful Plants of Australia'', 1889, p203-204.〕〔Hegnauer, R., ''Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen'', vol. 2, Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, 1963.〕 Recent research shows that ''S. glyciphylla'' has antioxidant activity 〔Cox, S.D., Jayasinghea, K.C., and Markhama, J.L., Antioxidant activity in Australian native sarsaparilla (Smilax glyciphylla), ''Journal of Ethnopharmacology'', Vol. 101, Issues 1-3, 3 October 2005, pp162-168.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Smilax glyciphylla」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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