Sichuan pepper / hua jiao (花椒)

Zanthoxylum bungeanum

Edible plant

Chinese

Photo credit: Tournasol7

Safety information

Toxicity: Low — long-used culinary spice; large medicinal doses can irritate.

Contraindications: Yin-deficiency with heat (TCM); pregnancy caution at medicinal doses.

Interactions: None well documented.

Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Pregnancy caution at medicinal doses.

Evidence level

Preclinical

Supported by laboratory or animal studies; not yet confirmed in humans.

Preparations

powder · pericarp

Part used: pericarp

Evidence:Preclinical

culinary spice · pericarp

Part used: pericarp

Evidence:Traditional (systematized)

in formula · pericarp

Part used: pericarp

Evidence:Traditional (systematized)

decoction · pericarp

Part used: pericarp

Traditional use: warms the middle, disperses cold, relieves pain, kills parasites/worms, stops itch; cold-pattern abdominal pain/vomiting/diarrhea, roundworm, topical itch

Proposed mechanism: alkylamides (hydroxy-alpha-sanshool — tingling/numbing principle), volatile oil, alkaloids — analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, glucose/lipid-metabolism effects

Evidence:Preclinical

General preparation guide →

Associated conditions

Flatulence / bloating itch roundworm Diarrhoea Nausea / vomiting

Edibility

Edible parts: Pericarp is a classic culinary spice (the numbing half of Sichuan ma la). Seeds (black inner part) gritty/bitter and discarded.

Toxic lookalike warning

Harvest only known Zanthoxylum (prickly-ash) species; avoid confusing with unrelated thorny shrubs.

Nutritional notes

Aromatic oils, alkylamides; spice-level quantities (negligible macronutrition).

Healing traditions

Chinese

Sources (1)

[E33] Zanthoxylum bungeanum pharma-food phytochemistry/health-function systematic review

All sources →