Zanthoxylum Armatum DC: Past, Present and Future Prospective

The Indian Himalayan region is rich in biodiversity among which one of the important genus Zanthoxylum armatum DC belongs to family Rutaceae possess high medicinal, economical as well as ecological important. A large genus of aromatic, prickly, dioecious or, rarely monoecious tree or shrubs, mainly pantropical, through also distributed in the subtropics. About 91 compounds has been isolated from the essential oil of fruit by GC and GC/MS analysis which included linalool (62.2%), limonene (12.6%) and methyl cinnamate (8.8%). The minor compounds such as citronellal and citronellol were also detected and found responsible for characteristic odour of the oil. In traditional health system, plant is valuable because of its stomachic, carminative, antioxidative, anti inflammatory, antimicrobial, insecticidal, larvicidal and antihelminthic properties. Its younger twigs are used as tooth brush and the fruits are also used as flavoring agent and spices in traditional dishes preparation. The bark is utilized as traditional dye yielding resource. Besides having economic importance, Plant has high demand causing a serious deletion of natural population. Therefore, there is urgent need for its conservation and focus may also be given to carry out research to prove its promising uses.