Sarsaparilla Root

No. Its traditional use as a blood purifier has no scientific basis for cats.

Sarsaparilla root comes from tropical climbing vines in the Smilax genus and has a long history in herbal medicine. A few dry cat foods add it in small amounts. We found no FDA or Merck guidance on sarsaparilla in cat food, and research in cats is lacking. If your cat has a medical condition or takes medication, ask your veterinarian about herbal ingredients.

Sarsaparilla root is added as a botanical ingredient tied to traditional herbal use, where it was credited with tonic effects. Those claims come from folk medicine rather than studies in cats. The Pettings page says no harm or benefit for cats is known at the amounts used.

The name is the same, but the soda is a different product. Sarsaparilla soda was historically flavored with the root, and many modern versions rely on other flavorings. In cat food, sarsaparilla means the dried, ground root of the Smilax plant itself.

We found no published controlled study of sarsaparilla root in cats. Lab and human research has looked at compounds in the plant called saponins, but those findings do not show what a small amount in dry cat food does. For now, any benefit to cats is unproven.

Pettings gives sarsaparilla root 2 out of 5 and lists it as an herb or plant extract. It appears on 4 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. The page says no harm or benefit for cats is known at these amounts. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.