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Zanthoxylum limonella (Dennst.) Alston (=Zanthoxylum dudrunga Wall. Ex DC., Zanthoxylum rhetsa DC.), Rutaceae, occurs in the forest tracts of Konkan, Deccan, North Kanara, Western ghats in South Kanara, Mysore, Malabar, Annamalai, Orissa, Sylhet, Khasia hills and Chittagong. The trunk of the tree with the characteristic large prickles, the fruits and seeds are illustrated.
The root bark purges the kidneys.
The fruit is aromatic, astringent, stimulant, and stomachic prescribed in dyspepsia and some forms of diarrhoea, as it has antibacterial activity. It is given in honey for asthma and rheumatism.
Interestingly, the fruit wall has the taste and odour of orange and the seed that of black pepper, due to which they are used in pickles and chutneys. The bark also is pickled.
The bark contains alkaloids budrungine, and budrungainine. The bark, fruit and seed contain essential oils.
The other species, Zanthoxylum acanthopodium, Zanthoxylum alatum, Zanthoxylum hamilstonianum, Zanthoxylum ovalifolium, and Zanthoxylum oxyphyllum are used for the same general complaints as Zanthoxylum limonella. Some of these species are also insecticidal.