Prickly Ash Bark C/S (Zanthoxylum americanum) 1 lb: K

This is Frontier's nitrogen-flushed double wall silverfoil pack. Some Frontier packs are double wall wax-lined paper. Used as an infusion, decoction, extract, tincture, liniment and poultice. Prickly Ash may be used as a tea or decoction for rheumatism and skin diseases. This herb has the reputation of being helpful for problems of circulation, such as chilblains, cramp in the leg, varicose veins and varicose ulcers. Externally it is helpful as a stimulating liniment for rheumatism and fibrositis. The bark and berries are chemically complex, containing the alkaloids magnoflorine, fagarine, nitidine, laurifoline, chelerythrine, candicine and tambetarine; and the coumarins zanthoxyletin, xanthyletin and alloxanthyletin, as well as resins and tannins. Herculin, an alkamide in the plant, acts like a topical anesthetic. In a recent Chinese hospital trial, Prickly Ash berries, which are chemically similar to the bark, helped with intestinal pain from various causes, including indigestion, ulcers and gallbladder disease. Grieve's classic 'A Modern Herbal': 'It acts as a stimulant - resembling guaiacum resin and mezereon bark in its remedial action and is greatly recommended in the United States for chronic rheumatism, typhoid and skin diseases and impurity of the blood, administered either in the form of fluid extract or in doses of 10 grains to ½ drachm in the powdered form, three times daily.' 'On account of the energetic stimulant properties of the bark, it produces when swallowed a sense of heat in the stomach, with more or less general arterial excitement and tendency to perspiration and is a useful tonic in debilitated conditions of the stomach and digestive organs, and is used in colic, cramp and colera, in fever, ague, lethargy, for cold hands and feet and complaints arising from a bad circulation.' 'A decoction made by boiling an ounce in 3 pints of water down to a quarter may be given in the quantity of a pint, in divided doses, during the twenty-four hours. As a counter-irritant, the decoction may be applied on compresses. It has also been used as an emmenagogue.' 'The powdered bark forms an excellent application to indolent ulcers and old wounds for cleansing, stimulating, drying up and healing the wounds. The pulverized bark is also used for paralytic affections and nervous headaches and as a topical irritant the bark, either in powdered form, or chewed, has been a very popular remedy for toothache in America, hence the origin of a common name of the tree in the States: Toothache Tree.' 'The berries are considered even more active than the bark, being carminative and antispasmodic, and are used as an aperient and for dyspepsia and indigestion; a fluid extract of the berries being given, in doses of 10 to 30 drops.' 'Xanthoxylin. Dose, 1 to 2 grains.' 'Both berries and bark are used to make a good bitter.' King's 1898 Dispensatory: 'Physiologically, prickly ash acts upon the secretions, the