Zanthoxylum americanum, Prickly Ash, Northern Prickly Ash, Toothache Tree.
Zanthoxylum americanum, Prickly Ash, Northern Prickly Ash, Toothache Tree occurs from western Quebec, Maine, south to Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, north to the Dakotas. The eminent naturalist, Thomas Nuttall, notes the use of prickly ash for toothaches in his travels through the Arkansas territory in 1819. When chewed, bark induces salivation and produces a numbing sensation in the mouth. Once popular to stimulate mucous surfaces, bile, and pancreas activity. Bark chewed for toothaches. Prickly Ash contains a number of alkaloids and alkalmides. Neoherculin produces a local numbing effect. Prickly ash preparations are used in European phytomedicines for treating rheumatic conditions, Raynaud’s disease and intermittent claudication, primarily to stimulate circulation. Prickly ash is in serious need of more research.
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