Xanthoxylum Fraxineum: A Natural Tonic for Nerves, Blood & Women’s Health

Common Name: Prickly Ash
Family: Rutaceae
Source: Bark of the tree
Type: Vegetable remedy

Sphere of Action

Acts on the nervous system, female reproductive organs, and circulatory system, especially pelvic nerves. Notable for neuralgic and menstrual affections.

Constitution & Temperament

• Especially suited to nervous, irritable, plethoric individuals
• Often used in women with uterine and ovarian troubles

Clinical Indications

• Dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation)
• Neuralgia – especially pelvic, facial, intercostal
• Amenorrhea with nervous symptoms
• Leucorrhea
• Rheumatism
• Hemorrhoids
• Headache during menses
• Chorea, hysteria, and nervous trembling

Key Characteristics

• Sharp, electric shock-like pains, especially in ovaries and uterus
• Burning or numbness in neuralgic areas
• Menstrual flow scanty, irregular, or delayed, with intense pain
• Ovarian pain extending down thighs
• Numbness of limbs, especially during neuralgic episodes

Mind Symptoms

• Nervous irritability
• Hysteria with trembling and cold extremities
• Cannot concentrate during menses

Female Sexual Organs

• Dysmenorrhea with sharp, shooting, radiating pain
• Ovarian neuralgia, particularly left-sided
• Leucorrhea thick, yellow, and acrid
• Pain in back and thighs during menstruation
• Uterus feels congested and heavy

Extremities

• Rheumatic and neuralgic pains in limbs
• Numbness, tingling, and crawling sensations
• Cold extremities with tremors

Modalities

Worse From	Better From
Menstrual period	Warmth
Cold air, cold weather	Lying down
Night	Gentle movement

Keynotes

• Electric-like pains in nerves
• Neuralgic dysmenorrhea
• Left ovarian pain extending down thighs
• Numbness and coldness in extremities

Potency & Dosage

• Common potencies: 3x to 30C
• Frequently repeated in low potencies for neuralgic pains
• Higher potencies (200C) used constitutionally in sensitive individuals

Relationships

Compare With	Complementary/Related Remedies
Cimicifuga, Pulsatilla, Colocynth, Belladonna	Mag phos, Caulophyllum, Ignatia, Gelsemium

One-Line Summary

Xanthoxylum is a key remedy for neuralgic dysmenorrhea and pelvic neuralgia, especially in sensitive women with sharp, electric-like pains and numbness.