''Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides'', also called Senegal prickly-ash or artar root, is a plant species in the genus ''

Zanthoxylum ''Zanthoxylum'' is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type genus of the tribe Zanthoxyleae i ...

''. The plant contains isomeric divanilloylquinic acids (3,4-O-divanilloylquinic acid or burkinabin A, 3,5-O-divanilloylquinic acid or burkinabin B and 4,5-O-divanilloylquinic acid or burkinabin C). Burkinabin C, a type of hydrolysable tannin can be found in the root bark of ''F. zanthoxyloides''. It also contains

fagaronine Fagaronine is a benzophenanthridine alkaloid found in '' Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides'' and other species in the genus ''Zanthoxylum ''Zanthoxylum'' is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the ...

, a benzophenanthridine alkaloid. A study by Williams, Soelberg and Jäger (2016) showed than ethanolic extracts of ''Z. zanthoxyloides'' have ''in vitro'' anthelmintic properties against the nematode ''

Ascaris suum ''Ascaris suum'', also known as the large roundworm of pig, is a parasitic nematode that causes ascariasis in pigs. While roundworms in pigs and humans are today considered as two species (''A. suum'' and '' A. lumbricoides'') with different ho ...

'', a swine

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...

that is closely related to the human parasite '' A. lumbricoides''. The half maximal effective concentration (

EC50 ] Half maximal effective concentration (EC50) is a measure of the concentration of a drug, antibody or toxicant which induces a Stimulus%E2%80%93response_model, response halfway between the baseline and maximum after a specified exposure time. Mo ...

) values were 94 μg/mL and 132 μg/mL, for roots and root bark, respectively. The authors concluded that these results encourage further investigation of the use of this plant as complementary treatment options for

ascariasis Ascariasis is a disease caused by the parasitic roundworm '' Ascaris lumbricoides''. Infections have no symptoms in more than 85% of cases, especially if the number of worms is small. Symptoms increase with the number of worms present and may ...

. File:Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides MS 2106.JPG, Spines File:Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides 0003.jpg, Fruits File:Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides 0001.jpg, Fruits

References

External links

Plants described in 1981 zanthoxyloides {{Rutaceae-stub