Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides

Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides, also called Senegal prickly-ash or artar root,^[1] is a plant species in the genus Zanthoxylum.

Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Zanthoxylum
Species:	Z. zanthoxyloides
Binomial name
Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides (Lam.) Zepern. & Timler, 1981
Synonyms
Fagara zanthoxyloides Lam. Zanthoxylum senegalense DC.

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).^[2] Burkinabin C, a type of hydrolysable tannin can be found in the root bark of F. zanthoxyloides.^[3] It also contains fagaronine, a benzophenanthridine alkaloid.^[4]

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, a swine parasite that is closely related to the human parasite A. lumbricoides. The half maximal effective concentration (EC50) 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.^[5]

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