I remember my grandmother saying sassafras will thin the blood. I remember long ago sassafras was thought to clean clogged arteries before the cholesterol meds were available. And funny that's when sassafras was labeled as could cause cancer and many stores stopped selling it. I have a sassafras tree in my back yard. I make the best file (gumbo stuff) by drying the leaves. jThe trees grow fast and make great shade trees.