Southern Prickly Ash

• Overview
• Uses
• Side Effects
• Precautions
• Interactions
• Dosing

Southern prickly ash is a plant. The bark and berry are used to make medicine.

Southern prickly ash is used for menstrual cramps, blood circulation problems in the legs (intermittent claudication) and in the fingers (Raynaud's syndrome), ongoing joint pain, toothache, sores, and ulcers.

It is also used to “break a fever” by causing sweating. Some people use it as a tonic or stimulant.

Southern prickly ash is one of the ingredients in “Hoxsey cure” for cancer.

How does it work?

The chemicals in southern prickly ash are thought to cause sleepiness, decrease swelling, kill bacteria, inhibit liver enzymes, and increase saliva production.

Insufficient Evidence to Rate Effectiveness for...

• Menstrual cramps.
• Blood circulation problems in the legs (intermittent claudication).
• Blood circulation problems in the fingers (Raynaud's syndrome).
• Joint pain.
• Toothache.
• Fever.
• Sores.
• Ulcers.
• Cancer.
• Other conditions.

More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of southern prickly ash for these uses.

Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database rates effectiveness based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective, Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective, and Insufficient Evidence to Rate (detailed description of each of the ratings).

The BARK of southern prickly ash may be safe when used as a medicine. The safety of the BERRY is not known. The potential side effects of southern prickly ash are not known.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding: It's UNSAFE to use southern prickly ash if you are pregnant. It might start your menstrual period and that could harm the pregnancy.

It's also best to avoid southern prickly ash if you are breast-feeding. It might cause colic in a nursing infant.

Liver disease: There is some concern that southern prickly ash might affect the liver.

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AntacidsInteraction Rating: Minor Be cautious with this combination.Talk with your health provider.

Antacids are used to decrease stomach acid. Southern prickly ash may increase stomach acid. By increasing stomach acid, southern prickly ash might decrease the effectiveness of antacids.

Some antacids include calcium carbonate (Tums, others), dihydroxyaluminum sodium carbonate (Rolaids, others), magaldrate (Riopan), magnesium sulfate (Bilagog), aluminum hydroxide (Amphojel), and others.

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Medications that decrease stomach acid (H2-blockers)Interaction Rating: Minor Be cautious with this combination.Talk with your health provider.

Southern prickly ash might increase stomach acid. By increasing stomach acid, southern prickly ash might decrease the effectiveness of some medications that decrease stomach acid, called H2-blockers.

Some medications that decrease stomach acid include cimetidine (Tagamet), ranitidine (Zantac), nizatidine (Axid), and famotidine (Pepcid).

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Medications that decrease stomach acid (Proton pump inhibitors)Interaction Rating: Minor Be cautious with this combination.Talk with your health provider.

Southern prickly ash might increase stomach acid. By increasing stomach acid, southern prickly ash might decrease the effectiveness of medications that are used to decrease stomach acid, called proton pump inhibitors.

Some medications that decrease stomach acid include omeprazole (Prilosec), lansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (Aciphex), pantoprazole (Protonix), and esomeprazole (Nexium).

The appropriate dose of southern prickly ash depends on several factors such as the user's age, health, and several other conditions. At this time there is not enough scientific information to determine an appropriate range of doses for southern prickly ash. Keep in mind that natural products are not always necessarily safe and dosages can be important. Be sure to follow relevant directions on product labels and consult your pharmacist or physician or other healthcare professional before using.