Timur biber

Zanthoxylum armatum, also called winged prickly ash or rattan pepper in English, is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae. It is an aromatic, deciduous, spiny shrub growing to 3.5 metres (11 ft) in height. It is native to parts of East and Southeast Asia, and the north of the Indian sub-continent. It grows in many habitats below 3100m.

In China the shrub flowers from April to May and fruits from August to October. The fruit follicles are purplish-red, about 4-5mm in diameter, while the seeds are black and 3-4mm in size.

The spice, timut pepper, is related to Sichuan pepper but less pungent. The bark, fruit and seeds are used in indigenous medicines in India, Nepal and Thailand. Timur is prominent in Nepalese cuisine, where it is often used in cooking sauces, pickles, meats, dumplings, and various other dishes. It is especially characteristic of the food of Western Nepal.

Hydroxy-alpha-sanshool is a molecule found in plants from the genus Zanthoxylum. It is believed to be responsible for the numbing and tingling sensation caused by eating food cooked with Sichuan peppercorns.

In a GC-MS analysis of an essential oil from the fruit, the most abundant ingredient was linalool (75.31%), followed by E-methyl cinnamate (11.73%) and limonene (9.45%). In another study, linalool, D-limonene and sabinene were the three most abundant volatile components in the essential oil of the pericarp. In oils of Zanthoxylum armatum from Nepal, the important compounds are linalool (about 50%), limonene, methyl cinnamate and cineole. Among more than 130 volatile constituents of Nepalese timur fruit oils and extracts, only 20 were found to have an odour impact.

Significant variations in essential oil content and composition exist among populations across different geographical regions in China.

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