CHAPTER 5: Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L)

Black pepper spice is a universal favourite, and has been highly sought after throughout human history with evidence of use dating back to 2000 BCE. Obtained from the small sun dried berry of the vine Piper nigrum, it is used as a flavouring agent in cooking, in perfumes, massage blends and insecticides. Black pepper's medicinal use has been recorded in ancient Sanskrit literature, and it is one of the most commonly used herbs in Ayurvedic medicine in India for gastrointestinal disorders. Black pepper has a range of bioactive properties ascribed primarily to an alkaloid piperine, which gives black pepper its pungent aroma. Although there is far more research on the health benefits and therapeutic potential of piperine, there is some evidence focussed on the bioactive properties, purported health benefits and therapeutic potential of black pepper – both the extract of the spice and its essential oil.