Sach Health Supplies LLC.
Photo credit : Government of Kerala
Piper Nigruin.
Plant parts used:
Dried unripe fruit.
Description :
The plant is a thick glabrous climber. The inflorescence is a spike of 20-30
senile flowers. The fruit is glabrous, 6 mm in diameter, initially green,
turning black on drying. Leaves are coriaceous (leathery), 10-18 by 5-12.5
cm broadly ovate, acuminate, glabrous.
Chemical composition :
Pepper contains volatile oil, the crystalline alkaloids-piperine, piperidine
and piperettine, and a resin. The minor alkaloids present are piperitine,
piperolein A, piperolein B, piperanine, trichostachine. The volatile oil
contains large amounts of terpenes,and a-pinene,phellandrene, dipentene
and sesquiterpenes.The pungency is ascribed to piperine and the resin.
The leaves contain hentriacontane, hentriacontanone, 4-methyl
triacontanone and b sitosterol. Tley do not have any of the alkaloids and
isobutyl amides found in the fruit.
Medicinal properties :
The volatile oil from the fruit showed antifungal activity. Piperine enhances the pesticidal properties of
pyethrin, while the benzene extracts are markedly fungitoxic. Prescribed for flatulence, diarrhoea. It is also
used to relieve diarrhoea. Unani system uses black pepper as a carminative, aphrodisiac and antispasmodic.
