Prickly Ash Bark and Powder Profile
Also known as- Zanthoxylum spp (fraxineum and americanum), Szechuan pepper, chuan jiao, Northern Prickly Ash, Ache Tree, Tooth Ache Tree, and Yellow Wood.
Introduction
About 1350, a book entitled the Ri Yong Ben Cao (Home Guide to Useful Medicines) first advised Chinese physicians of the medicinal benefits of prickly ash, also known as Szechuan pepper.
Before prickly ash was used medicinally, however, it was applied in the Imperial Court as the sole anesthetic for the operation by which the Emperor acquired his court eunuchs.
Traditional Chinese Medicine uses prickly ash to warm the "middle burner," the energies in the middle of the body that power the immune response and help digest food. Traditional herbal medicine also uses prickly ash to kill parasites and to alleviate abdominal pain, particularly when the source of the pain is a parasitic infection.
Constituents
Volatile oil containing geraniol.
Parts Used
The bark or the fruit, dried and chopped. The powder is better for poultices than the chopped bark. The chopped bark is better for making teas and tinctures than the powdered bark.
Typical Preparations
Teas or tinctures. Prickly ash powder may be used as a poultice applied to the abdomen to treat abdominal pain (recommended over teas or tinctures for this purpose). Although rare, may also be taken as capsule.
Chopped prickly ash bark can be used to make teas or tinctures when combined with:
- Ginger and/or Panax ginseng for relieving chronic abdominal pain.
- Ginger to treat nausea and vomiting in long-term illnesses.
- Mume fruit and coptis or Oregon grape root for treating symptoms caused by roundworms (usually vomiting).
The seed or "eyes" of prickly ash are used in teas as an acrid, bitter, and cooling treatment for wheezing or swelling.
Summary
Taken internally or externally, prickly ash bark relieves chronic pain. Usually a prickly ash poultice applied to the skin over the area of pain is more effective than a prickly ash tincture or tea taken by mouth. Test the herb on a small area of skin first to make sure you are not among the very few people sensitive or allergic to the herb.
Precautions
Always seek a medical diagnosis when there is acute abdominal pain.
Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches that prickly ash should be avoided when there is fever with profuse sweating, and used with caution during pregnancy. Prickly ash can stop lactation, and should be avoided by mothers wishing to continue nursing.
Products made from the American prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum) can cause sunlight sensitivity. This effect is likely to be a problem only if the user (1) takes prescription ACE inhibitors for high blood pressure or (2) eats large amounts of celery or celeriac or takes St. John's wort. Sunburn can be avoided by avoidance of midday sun or by use of sun block.
