Tejohva (Zanthoxylum alatum)

Native to North America, Tephrosia is a therapeutic herb. The plant is often referred to as a "Timur" or "Toothache tree" in common parlance, and its scientific name is Winged Prickly Ash. Relatively little, up to 6 m tall, thorny tree. Its branches span over 1.2 centimeters. The leaves are trifoliate, with wings attached to the leaf stalks. The leaflets are serrated, pointed, and elliptic, resembling ovate leaves. 

The little yellow flowers emerge from the axils of the leaves. Six to eight sepals are present. There are no petals on its blossoms. Male flowers seem yellow because they have six to eight stamens with big anthers. When ripe, female flowers have one to three cells, are pale crimson in color, and divide into two ends. Their fruits are stunning, subglobose, and reddish-brown, and each follicle holds one single seed. Moreover, seeds are globose. They are glossy black in color.

General Description: 

The herb Zanthoxylum alatum is rich in therapeutic qualities. It is referred to as "tejohva" and "tumur" in Ayurveda. It is recognized to regulate the vata and kapha doshas. It is well known that vata regulates respiration, heart rate, blinking, and blood circulation. Kapha is known to regulate the immune system, skin conditions, and water delivery to every region of the body.

Tejohva, thus, can treat a wide range of illnesses and conditions pertaining to the skin, digestion, circulation, and immunity. Every portion of the plant is known to possess carminative, anthelmintic, and stomachic qualities. Fruit extracts' antibacterial, deodorizing, and disinfecting qualities have made them effective against fever, teeth issues, worms, and dyspepsia. Helpful in keeping flies away due to their deodorizing and disinfecting properties. The tree's bark is used to treat snake bites, diabetes, asthma, and gum disease.

It has a variety of significant, functional, and active biochemicals. Its stem bark contains monoterpene-containing essential oils, including limonene and linalool, as well as the amide armatamide. The stem bark's alcoholic extract contains a novel flavonoidal glycoside.

The plant's seeds include volatile substances such as alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, sterols, fatty acids, lignins, amino acids, and aromatic compounds, as well as active ingredients like enolic acid. Its leaves include linalool, linolyl acetate, ketone chemicals, and several types of terpenes.

Each of these substances exhibits its activity when required. Tejohva tends to perform all of its functions because it contains so many compounds.

Classification:

• Kingdom - Plantae
• Phylum - Tracheophyta
• Class - Magnoliopsida
• Order - Sapindales
• Family - Rutaceae
• Genus - Zanthoxylum

Habitat: 

It comes from North America natively. This plant grows in India at altitudes of 1000–2100 m in the Himalayan valleys, 600–1800 m in the Khasi hills and in the ghats of India, including Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, and at least 1,200 m in the Himalayan regions in northeastern India, including Naga Hills, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Manipur.

Names:

• Latin name - Zanthoxylum alatum
• English name – Toothache Tree
• Hindi name – Tumbura, Nepali Dhaniya, Tejbal 
• Kannada name – Tejaphal, Tumburu
• Tamil name – Tejaphalam, Tejasvini
• Telugu name – Tejasvini
• Malayalam name – Tejaphalam, Tejasvini
• U.P Hills name – Timur
• Bengali name – Nepali Dhane
• Gujarati name – Tejbal
• Punjabi name – Tirmira
• Unani name – Faaghir
• Philippines name – Chi-it
• Thailand name – Mak kak
• Arabic name – Phagir karava khandan
• Persian name – Kavava dahana kushada

Ayurvedic Properties:

Effects on Doshas:

It is applied to treat vata and kapha disorders.

Practical Uses:

External uses of Tejohva:

It has antiparasitic, stimulant, and necrosis-prevention properties. Its powder is applied on wounds as dust. It's also applied to headaches. This plant's juice is used to treat throat issues and to gargle with for dental and oral issues.

Internal uses of Tejohva:

• Anti-inflammatory activity - This plant is well-known for its anti-inflammatory properties and shows a strong suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor.

• Anti-bacterial activity - Gram-negative bacteria like Salmonella typhi and E. Coli are known to be inhibited by it, as well as gram-positive bacteria like B. subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus.

• Insecticidal, mosquito repellent, & larvicidal activity - It has the power to strengthen the effects of repellent against Aedes female mosquitoes. The larvicidal action of its seed oil is demonstrated against Culex, Aedes, and Anopheles mosquitoes.

• Cure skin ailments - Fruit extracts are rich in several types of lipids that can help prevent sensitive skin irritation caused by sun exposure, bug bites, shaving, chemical treatments, and other issues.

• Antioxidative activity - This fruit's ethanolic and methanolic extracts exhibit radical scavenging properties.

• Nervine tonic - It is helpful in Vata disorders such as paralysis and rheumatoid arthritis since it is utilized as a nervous system stimulant.

• Tonic - It is a powerful anthelmintic, liver stimulant, and appetizer. Its mechanism of calcium antagonism is responsible for this activity.

• Refreshment - The fruit can be consumed and stored in the mouth to be brushed when dental conditions arise.

• Cardiac diseases - Due to its cardiac-stimulating qualities, it is highly beneficial for heart conditions. Its mechanism of calcium antagonism offers a foundation for treating heart disorders.

• Especially helpful for cough and asthma.
• It also has diuretic properties.
• It is very useful for fever.

Parts used:

Leaves, Flowers

Side Effects:

Because of the fiery intensity of the plant, Tejohva might produce mild burning sensations