Zanthoxylum is derived from the Greek words, xanthos, which means ‘yellow’ and xylon, ‘wood’, given to the genus because several species have a yellow wood, and humile, means ‘lower’ or ‘humbly’, in reference to the height of the plant.

The genus Zanthoxylum has a wide distribution around the world, in warm, temperate and subtropical regions, making it one of the largest genera in the Rutaceae family, with 212 species (Nhiem et al. 2019). There are several other noteworthy species possessing medicinal properties, such as Zanthoxylum amartum, Z. americana, Z. capense, Z. ekmanii, Z. monogynum, Z. nitidium, Z. ovalifolium, Z. panamense, Z. rhoifolium, Z. setulosum, Z. sprucei and Z. zynthoxyloides. This genus has been extensively studied and has a wide range of chemical compounds, with much interest placed on its alkaloid compounds. Alkaloids possess the following biological activities: antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, antiviral, and cytotoxic activities (Nhiem et al. 2019). In Kenya, the leaves and roots of Zanthoxylum gilletii are used to treat both breast and skin cancers (Ochwang et al. 2014). Zanthoxylum fruits are used in Cameroon to treat anemia disease and sickle erythrocytes. The use of Zanthoxylum fruits is also noted in India and southern Japan for chemopreventive effects (Lee & Lim 2011). In southern Africa, Zanthoxylum capense (small knobwood) is used to treat chronic cough (Semenya & Maroyi 2012), stomachache, toothache, infertility, snake bites and also as a paste to treat sores by Zulu people (Hutchings 1996; Kondlo 2012). The phytochemical screening of Z. humile has tested positive for the presence of alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, glycosides, saponins and terpenoids validating its medicinal use (Papo 2017). The presence of these compounds in several members of the genus were also highlighted by Nhiem et al. (2019).