Ash Bark, Prickly, Extract
Prickly ash bark extract is a botanical preparation made from the dried stem and root bark of Zanthoxylum species, chiefly Zanthoxylum americanum and Zanthoxylum clava herculis, thorny shrubs of the Rutaceae family native to North America. Despite the common name the plants are unrelated to true ash, Fraxinus, and belong instead to the citrus family, which is reflected in the extract's chemistry.
The bark carries benzophenanthridine and aporphine alkaloids, among them chelerythrine and magnoflorine, together with coumarins such as xanthyletin, lignans, and a small volatile fraction dominated by monoterpenes. The combination produces the extract's defining sensory effect, a pungent, tingling numbness on the tongue and gums that gave the plant its older trade name of toothache bark.
Commercially the material sells as a brown to dark brown powder for ratio and standardised extracts, and as a hydroalcoholic fluid extract or tincture where the volatile and less polar constituents are wanted intact. The powdered extract disperses in water with some insoluble residue and dissolves more completely in dilute ethanol. It is hygroscopic and darkens in light, so it is packed in opaque, sealed containers.
We source bulk Ash Bark, Prickly, Extract from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Chongqing. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Function
- Plant extract
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Brown to dark brown fine powder |
| Odour and Taste | Aromatic, pungent, producing a tingling numbness |
| Botanical Source | Zanthoxylum americanum or Zanthoxylum clava herculis bark |
| Identification | HPLC fingerprint conforming to authenticated bark reference |
| Extract Ratio | 10:1 (dried bark to extract) |
| Particle Size | ≥ 95% through 80 mesh |
| Loss on Drying | ≤ 5.0% |
| Total Ash | ≤ 6.0% |
| Residual Ethanol | ≤ 0.5% |
| Lead | ≤ 2.0 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | ≤ 1.0 mg/kg |
| Cadmium | ≤ 1.0 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count | ≤ 10,000 cfu/g |
| Yeast and Mould | ≤ 500 cfu/g |
| Escherichia coli | Negative in 1 g |
| Salmonella | Negative in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Most trade is in ratio extracts, quoted as 4:1, 10:1 or 20:1 against the dried bark, with no single marker assay because no one constituent has become the accepted standard for the species. Where a figure is required, buyers ask for total alkaloids by titration or for a chromatographic fingerprint matched against a reference bark, since species substitution between the two North American Zanthoxylum species and the Asian culinary species is the main adulteration risk.
Alongside the dry extracts, a one to one and a one to five hydroalcoholic fluid extract are traded for tincture and bitters work, specified on ethanol content and solids rather than on assay. Dry powders are offered carrier free or on maltodextrin, in 80 mesh cuts, and both conventional and organic certified bark is available. Cut and sifted bark and milled bark powder are sold under the same commercial heading and should not be confused with a concentrated extract.
Applications
- Herbal bitters and aperitif formulations, where the pungent tingling character supplies the counterpoint to sweeter botanicals
- Tincture and liquid supplement blends, usually combined with circulatory and digestive herbs in the western herbal tradition
- Capsule and tablet supplements, dosed as a ratio extract within multi botanical formulas
- Oral care products such as gum rinses and tooth powders, using the numbing sensation the bark is named for
- Trigeminal sensation systems in confectionery and chewing gum, where the tingle is used as an effect in its own right
- Craft spirit and amaro production, contributing both aroma and mouthfeel to the macerate
- Topical liniments and warming balms, where the extract is used for its counterirritant character
- Flavour compounding for savoury and spice profiles that call for a citrus family pungency without capsaicin heat
China Manufacturers of Ash Bark, Prickly, Extract
Top Ash Bark, Prickly, Extract manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States, prickly ash bark is used as a dietary ingredient under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, with finished products manufactured under 21 CFR Part 111. Zanthoxylum is also listed among the natural flavouring substances and natural substances used in conjunction with flavours that the Food and Drug Administration permits in food, and prickly ash extracts are used in alcoholic beverages under the flavouring provisions. The Flavour and Extract Manufacturers Association covers Zanthoxylum preparations in its list of generally recognised as safe flavouring materials.
In the European Union the extract is handled as a food or food supplement ingredient rather than as a food additive, so no E number applies. Botanical preparations of this type are covered by the general food law and by the framework governing botanicals in food supplements, with health claims for the species unauthorised. Codex has no commodity standard for prickly ash bark extract and JECFA has issued no additive specification for it. Where the extract is used in spirit drinks, the Union spirit drinks regulation governs how the botanical may be declared.
Manufacturing Process
Bark is stripped from stems and roots during the growing season, when it separates cleanly, then dried in shade to protect the volatile fraction and the light sensitive alkaloids. Dried bark is cut and milled to a coarse particle size that gives good solvent penetration without packing the extractor bed.
Extraction is normally by percolation or counter current maceration with ethanol at 50 to 70 percent, a concentration that recovers both the alkaloids and the coumarins while leaving most of the bark's polysaccharide behind. Fluid extracts are drawn off, settled, filtered and adjusted to the declared strength with additional solvent, then filled. For dry extracts the miscella is filtered, concentrated under vacuum at low temperature with ethanol recovery, and either spray dried onto a carrier or vacuum belt dried and milled. The finished powder is sieved, blended to a uniform fingerprint against the reference, and packed in double food grade liners inside fibre drums.
