Shiny Prickly Ash Root Pieces (Zanthoxylum Nitidum)

Shiny Prickly Ash Root Pieces (Zanthoxylum nitidum) are the dried root sections of the powerful medicinal herb known in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as Liáng Miàn Zhēn (两面针). Long valued for its pain-relieving, blood-invigorating, toxin-resolving, and wind-damp–dispelling properties, the root is considered the most potent part of the plant. Its energetic nature is bitter, pungent, and warm, giving it a penetrating ability to move qi and blood, ease sharp or fixed pain, reduce swelling, and clear localized inflammation or heat-toxin.

In TCM, Liang Mian Zhen enters the Liver and Stomach channels, helping to activate circulation, relieve pain, disperse blood stasis, and reduce swelling from trauma or obstruction. It is especially known for its effectiveness in dental pain, sore gums, oral inflammation, jaw tension, and toothache, making it a favored herb in oral-health formulas. Beyond the mouth, it is used for abdominal pain from qi stagnation, lower limb pain, joint discomfort, bruises, contusions, and wind-damp bi syndrome, particularly when pain is aggravated by cold or lack of circulation.

In folk herbal practice, the root is used both internally and externally. Decoctions help relieve internal stagnation, ease digestive discomfort, and reduce inflammation, while external applications—such as pastes, washes, and compresses—are applied to bruises, bites, swelling, infected areas, and localized injuries.

Modern studies show that Zanthoxylum nitidum contains alkaloids, lignans, terpenoids, and flavonoids known for strong analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and circulation-enhancing effects. These compounds validate its traditional use for pain relief, rapid swelling reduction, oral-health support, and improved microcirculation.

Each batch of Shiny Prickly Ash Root Pieces (Zanthoxylum nitidum) is carefully harvested and dried to preserve its aromatic warmth, woody fragrance, and strong dispersing potency. When decocted, it produces a pungent, warming, deeply penetrating herbal infusion traditionally used to relieve pain, activate blood, ease swelling, clear toxin, and unblock stagnation in the channels.