''Zanthoxylum gilletii'', the East African satinwood, is a tree species in the genus ''

Zanthoxylum ''Zanthoxylum'' is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the Family (biology), family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and Subtropics, subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type gen ...

'' found in Africa. The fruits are used to produce the spice uzazi, which is the Nigerian (

Igbo language Igbo ( , ; Standard Igbo: ''Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò'' ) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, an ethnicity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. Igbo languages are spoken by a total of 31 million people. The number of Igbo ...

) name of both the plant and the spice. It is native to Central and

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

Africa, and a close relative of the

Sichuan pepper Sichuan pepper (, also known as Sichuanese pepper, Szechuan pepper, Chinese prickly ash, Chinese pepper, Mountain pepper, and ''mala'' pepper, is a spice commonly used in Sichuan cuisine in China, Bhutan and in northeast India. It is called mej ...

. "Uzazi" usually refers specifically to the spice made from its fruit and pericarp, though sometimes other parts of it such as its leaves are used.

Description

Each bunch contains 20 to 30 berries. Each berry is round, has a size of 3.5 to 6 mm (1/8 inch to 1/4 inch), has a stalk, and contains a large black seed. The berry turns red when ripe. The berries contain the

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

sanshool.

Use

Fruit

The fruit is described as spicy and pungent, more so than Sichuan pepper, and bitter. It is usually used by grinding it into a powder and adding it into soups, stews, seasonings, and sauces. Even in West Africa this is a rare spice, and typically only five or six dried fruit are added to a dish. In

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

, it is used to treat tumors and wounds. The name of the spice is derived from Igbo, a language in Nigeria, where the spice is grown and harvested on a commercial basis.

Chemistry

The alkaloid

nitidine Nitidine is a benzophenanthridine alkaloid found in species of the genus '' Zanthoxylum '', notably in '' Zanthoxylum nitidum''. This compound has an anti-malarial activity.Bouquet, J., et al. (2012)Biological activities of nitidine, a potential a ...

can be isolated from the plant. The amide alkaloids N-(4-hydroxyphenethyl)octacosanamide, N-(4-hydroxyphenethyl)hexacosanamide, N-(4-hydroxyphenethyl)decanamide, N-vanilloyltyramine and N- -docosanoylvanilloylyramine can be isolated from the stem bark. The lignan

sesamin Sesamin is a lignan isolated from the bark of '' Fagara'' plants and from sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is ...

, the N-isobutylamide γ- sanshool, the acridone alkaloids 1-hydroxy-3-methoxy-N-methylacridone, arborinine, xanthoxoline and 1-hydroxy-3-methoxyacridone can also be extracted from the bark as well as the alkaloids oblongine, tembetarine and magnoflorine and the flavonoid

hesperidin Hesperidin is a flavanone glycoside found in citrus fruits. Its aglycone is hesperetin. Its name is derived from the word "hesperidium", for fruit produced by citrus trees. Hesperidin was first isolated in 1828 by French chemist M. Lebreton f ...

References

External links

* http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/products/afdbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=17988 gilletii Flora of Africa Plants described in 1975 Taxa named by Émile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman Long stubs with short prose {{Rutaceae-stub