Abstract: Fruits of Zanthozylum limonella Alston, one of the spices traditionally used for toothache relief, were hydro-distilled to obtain about 4.3% yield of volatile oil (ZL). 30% of ZL in a bioadhesive gel was prepared for in vitro permeation and in vivo tests. In vitro permeation of total phenolic contents of the ZL gel through porcine esophagus, as the model mucous membrane, using Franz diffusion cells indicates an average steady-state rate of 0.1 ± 0.02 mgGAE/cm2/h at 37 C (n = 5) without lag time. In vivo study in buccal pressure-wounds of rats indicates that licking behaviour was obvious and could be inhibited by gels containing xylocaine or ZL but not fluocinolone. Histological analysis of the inflammed cells in excised oral wounds showed that it took 1 day for fluocinolone gel to significantly reduce the number of inflammed cells and 2 days for ZL gel (p<0.05 both). Comparative wound assessments (edema and erythema) indicate mild anti-inflammatory activity of ZL gel. Thus, phenolic components of ZL could readily permeate though mucous membrane and ZL gel showed potential benefits for topical use in oral wound.