Origin

Africa

Folk medicinal uses

Stem bark - A tablespoonful of mixture of powdered stem bark of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides, fruits of Piper guineense and fruits of Xylopia aethiopica is mixed with pap and drunk every morning as a cure for general body weakness until patient gets well. A paste mixture of powdered stem bark of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides and fruit of Piper guineense applied to the affected part of the body has been found effective as a way of checking over-development of the spleen.

Leaves - As a treatment for swollen legs or elephantiasis, a decoction made from the leaves of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides and fruits of Xylopia aethiopica is drunk.

Root - To cure tooth-ach~ root powder is applied to the gum of the affected tooth for about five minutes. The root used as a chewing stick is reported to hasten healing. The antimicrobial property of the chewing stick has been investigated by El. Said et al. (1971). See also Lewis & Elvin-Lewis, 1977. To cure a sore throat salt is added to powdered root bark, two tablespoonfuls are taken in warm or cold water twice daily until well. In cases ot indigestion a teaspoonful of powdered root bark taken in warm water eases stooling. Root bark is soaked in sterile water for twelve hours, a tablespoonful of resulting solution is taken three times daily to treat gonorrhea or as a urinary antiseptic (Oliver, 1959). Sufferers from sickle-cell anaemia are encouraged to drink a decoction of boiled roots of Z. Zanthoxyloides. For obesity, the washed root bark is dried, scraped with a snail shell and powdered. The powder is then rubbed allover the body. A portion of scraped bark is also boiled in a clay pot and the reSUlting liquid is used for bathing.

Some medicinal forest plants of Africa and Latin America 67/ FAO. – FAO: Rome, 1986. – p. 268.