Zanthoxylum gilletii
Species of tree
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zanthoxylum gilletii, the East African satinwood, is a tree species in the genus Zanthoxylum found in Africa. The fruits are used to produce the spice uzazi, which is the Nigerian (Igbo language) name of both the plant and the spice. It is native to Central and West Africa, and a close relative of the Sichuan pepper. "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.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][excessive citations]
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| Zanthoxylum gilletii | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Rutaceae |
| Genus: | Zanthoxylum |
| Species: | Z. gilletii |
| Binomial name | |
| Zanthoxylum gilletii (De Wild.) P.G.Waterman (1975) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Description
Use
Fruit
The fruit is described as spicy and pungent, more so than Sichuan pepper, and bitter.[2][6] It is usually used by grinding it into a powder and adding it into soups, stews, seasonings, and sauces.[2][5][13][14] Even in West Africa this is a rare spice,[citation needed] and typically only five or six dried fruit are added to a dish.[6]
In herbal medicine, it is used to treat tumors and wounds.[5]
The name of the spice is derived from Igbo, a language in Nigeria, where the spice is grown and harvested on a commercial basis.[citation needed]
Chemistry
The alkaloid nitidine can be isolated from the plant.[15]
The amide alkaloids N-(4-hydroxyphenethyl)octacosanamide, N-(4-hydroxyphenethyl)hexacosanamide, N-(4-hydroxyphenethyl)decanamide, N-vanilloyltyramine and N-[O-docosanoylvanilloyl]tyramine can be isolated from the stem bark.[16] The lignan sesamin, 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[17] as well as the alkaloids oblongine, tembetarine and magnoflorine and the flavonoid hesperidin.[18]
