According to Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Sichuan pepper strengthens teeth, blackens hair, and brightens the eyes. Long-term use improves complexion, retards aging, prolongs life, and invigorates the spirit." In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sichuan pepper is pungent and hot in nature, and it is associated with the spleen, stomach, and kidney meridians. It has the effects of aromatic stomach strengthening, warming the middle to dispel cold, removing dampness to relieve pain, killing parasites and detoxifying, and stopping itching and removing fishy odors. It is mainly used to treat conditions such as vomiting, wind-cold-dampness arthralgia, and toothache.
Research by nutritionists shows that Sichuan pepper contains volatile oils, which are mainly geraniol, limonene, phosphorus, iron, etc. Green pepper seeds contain volatile oils, which are mainly isoeugenol, bergapten, and benzoic acid.
Adding Sichuan pepper to meat dishes removes the fishy smell and preserves it.
As is well known, adding Sichuan pepper to meat dishes removes the fishy smell, but many people don't know that Sichuan pepper not only eliminates the fishy smell of meat but also has a preservative effect. Therefore, when stewing meat or fish, you can add 5-10 grains of Sichuan pepper, which not only removes the fishy smell but also helps with preservation. If you don't have Sichuan pepper grains when stewing fish, you can use Sichuan pepper leaves instead, but the leaves should be added just before the dish is finished cooking.
Sichuan pepper can be used as medicine to treat dysmenorrhea.
In addition to being a seasoning, Sichuan pepper can also be used as medicine. Because Sichuan pepper is warm in nature, it can also treat dysmenorrhea. The method is: use 10 grams of Sichuan pepper and 3 grams of pepper. Grind the two ingredients into a fine powder, mix with white wine to form a paste, apply it to the navel, and seal it with an external traumatic pain-relieving patch once a day. This method is most suitable for dysmenorrhea caused by cold stagnation and qi stagnation.
Generally, Sichuan pepper grains are used for medicinal purposes, but in fact, other parts of the Sichuan pepper tree are also useful, such as the leaves which can be used for cooking, and the trunk which can be used as a cooking tool. Sichuan pepper has various medicinal effects, including warming the stomach and intestines, stimulating the appetite, and has preservative, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, analgesic, and insect-repellent effects. It can also relieve colds and treat poison ivy poisoning.