Piper nigrum.  胡 椒 Hú jiāo   Pepper- Black and White   Family: Piperaceae     
White, black and green peppercorns all come from the same vine. They grow in clusters (like grapes), and are harvested in various stages of growth. Green peppercorns are young when they are picked and dehydrated or preserved, with a resulting mild flavor. The black peppercorns are left on the vine to fully mature and develop a stronger flavor profile. White peppercorns are black peppercorns which have been soaked to remove the outer casing. This gives the white peppercorns a more intense flavor, with a slightly fermented taste and smell from the soaking process.[5] Pink peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorns are not true peppercorns. Pink peppercorns are soft, fragile berries with a sweet-sharp flavor. Sichaun pepper is the berry of the mountain ash tree, with a pungent, cold flavor instead of the usual heat of a peppercorn.[5] A pink peppercorn (French: baie rose, "pink berry") is a dried berry of the shrub Schinus molle, commonly known as the Peruvian peppertree.
Although a peppercorn is the dried fruit of a plant from the genus Piper, pink peppercorns came to be called such because they resemble peppercorns, and because they, too, have a peppery flavour. As they are members of the cashew family, they may cause allergic reactions including anaphylaxis for persons with a tree nut allergy.[6]
PART USED: Dry fruit- Peppercorn
Nature: Hot, Warm     FLAVOR: Acrid, Pungent   CHANNEL: Stomach, Large intestine
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Warm the Interior and Expel Cold
1. Warm the middle Heater to increase appetite.[1,2,3] Warms the internal regions.[4] Warms Stomach.[7]
2. Eliminate Phlegm. Eliminates abdominal distension and alleviates pain.[1]
3. Pushes the Qi downwards. Counteract toxic effects.
INDICATIONS
1. Stomach Cold:[1,2,3,4,7] abdominal pain,[1] vomiting[1] (of clear water). Diarrhea.[1,2,3,4,7] Cold dysentery. Anorexia.
2. Deficiency Cold of Lung and Spleen with cough and thin expectoration, also for epilepsy. Cold Sputum.[4] Cold Sputum and abdominal fullness (due to marasmus or intestinal worms).[1]
3. Cold energy dominance, Cold diarrhea and dysentery.[1]
4. Food poisoning:[4] Fish, meat, crab, mushroom.[1] Food poisoning.
CONTRAINDICATIONS: Yin Deficiency and Fire, piles, toothache, blurred vision.[2] Small amounts improve digestion. Large amounts inteferes with stomach membranes- can lead to blood congestion.[7]
PREPARATIONS: Dry fruit- peppercorn-  Decoction 2-4 g crushed before decocting.[1,3] Powder 0.5-1 g once to twice daily.[3,7]

- Vomiting due to upset stomach- Boil 30 g sliced fresh Ginger with 1 g ground black pepper in 3 cups water until water reuced to 1 cup. Drink this amount 3 times a day for 1 day.[4]
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents.
Research.

The antioxidant and radical scavenging activities of black pepper (Piper nigrum) seeds.
Gülçin I.
Abstract
Water and ethanol crude extracts from black pepper (Piper nigrum) were investigated for their antioxidant and radical scavenging activities in six different assay, namely, total antioxidant activity, reducing power, 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, and metal chelating activities. Both water extract (WEBP) and ethanol extract (EEBP) of black pepper exhibited strong total antioxidant activity. The 75 microg/ml concentration of WEBP and EEBP showed 95.5% and 93.3% inhibition on peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion, respectively. On the other hand, at the same concentration, standard antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and alpha-tocopherol exhibited 92.1%, 95.0%, and 70.4% inhibition on peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion, respectively. Also, total phenolic content in both WEBP and EEBP were determined as gallic acid equivalents. The total phenolics content of water and ethanol extracts were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure and 54.3 and 42.8 microg gallic acid equivalent of phenols was detected in 1 mg WEBP and EEBP. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2005 Nov;56(7):491-9. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of Piper nigrum L.
Tasleem F, Azhar I, Ali SN, Perveen S, Mahmood ZA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate and compare the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity of pure compound, piperine along with hexane and ethanol extracts of Piper nigrum L. fruit in mice and rats.
METHODS:
The analgesic activity was determined by tail immersion method, analgesy-meter, hot plate and acetic acid induced writhing test. While the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by carrageenan-induced paw inflammation in rats.
RESULTS:
Piperine at a dose of 5 mg/kg and ethanol extract at a dose of 15 mg/kg after 120 min and hexane extract at a dose of 10 mg/kg after 60 min exhibited significant (P<0.05) analgesic activity by tail immersion method, in comparison to ethanol extract at a dose of 10 mg/kg using analgesy-meter in rats. However, with hotplate method, piperine produced significant (P<0.05) analgesic activity at lower doses (5 and 10 mg/kg) after 120 min. A similar analgesic activity was noted with hexane extract at 15 mg/kg. However, in writhing test, ethanol extract significantly (P<0.05) stopped the number of writhes at a dose of 15 mg/kg, while piperine at a dose of 10 mg/kg completely terminated the writhes in mice. In the evaluation of anti-inflammatory effect using plethysmometer, piperine at doses of 10 and 15 mg/kg started producing anti-inflammatory effect after 30 min, which lasted till 60 min, whereas hexane and ethanol extracts also produced a similar activity at a slightly low dose (10 mg/kg) but lasted for 120 min.
CONCLUSIONS:
It is concluded from the present study that Piper nigrum L possesses potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities.
Copyright © 2014 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2014 Sep;7S1:S461-8. doi: 10.1016/S1995-7645(14)60275-3. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Inhibitory effects of black pepper (Piper nigrum) extracts and compounds on human tumor cell proliferation, cyclooxygenase enzymes, lipid peroxidation and nuclear transcription factor-kappa-B.
Liu Y, Yadev VR, Aggarwal BB, Nair MG.
Abstract
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) and hot pepper (Capsicum spp.) are widely used in traditional medicines. Although hot Capsicum spp. extracts and its active principles, capsaicinoids, have been linked with anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities, whether black pepper and its active principle exhibit similar activities is not known. In this study, we have evaluated the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of extracts and compounds from black pepper by using proinflammatory transcription factor NF-kappaB, COX-1 and -2 enzymes, human tumor cell proliferation and lipid peroxidation (LPO). The capsaicinoids, the alkylamides, isolated from the hot pepper Scotch Bonnet were also used to compare the bioactivities of alkylamides and piperine from black pepper. All compounds derived from black pepper suppressed TNF-induced NF-kappaB activation, but alkyl amides, compound 4 from black pepper and 5 from hot pepper, were most effective. The human cancer cell proliferation inhibitory activities of piperine and alklyl amides in Capsicum and black pepper were dose dependant. The inhibitory concentrations 50% (IC50) of the alklylamides were in the range 13-200 microg/mL. The extracts of black pepper at 200 microg/mL and its compounds at 25 microg/mL inhibited LPO by 45-85%, COX enzymes by 31-80% and cancer cells proliferation by 3.5-86.8%. Overall, these results suggest that black pepper and its constituents like hot pepper, exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer activities.
PMID: 20839630 Nat Prod Commun. 2010 Aug;5(8):1253-7. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pharmacological basis for the medicinal use of black pepper and piperine in gastrointestinal disorders.
Mehmood MH, Gilani AH.
Abstract
Dried fruits of Piper nigrum (black pepper) are commonly used in gastrointestinal disorders. The aim of this study was to rationalize the medicinal use of pepper and its principal alkaloid, piperine, in constipation and diarrhea using in vitro and in vivo assays. When tested in isolated guinea pig ileum, the crude extract of pepper (Pn.Cr) (1–10 mg/mL) and piperine (3–300 µM) caused a concentration-dependent and atropine-sensitive stimulant effect. In rabbit jejunum, Pn.Cr (0.01–3.0 mg/mL) and piperine (30–1,000 µM) relaxed spontaneous contractions, similar to loperamide and nifedipine. The relaxant effect of Pn.Cr and piperine was partially inhibited in the presence of naloxone (1 µM) similar to that of loperamide, suggesting the naloxone-sensitive effect in addition to the Ca(2+) channel blocking (CCB)-like activity, which was evident by its relaxant effect on K+ (80 mM)-induced contractions. The CCB activity was confirmed when pretreatment of the tissue with Pn.Cr (0.03–0.3 mg/mL) or piperine (10–100 µM) caused a rightward shift in the concentration–response curves of Ca(2+), similar to loperamide and nifedipine. In mice, Pn.Cr and piperine exhibited a partially atropine-sensitive laxative effect at lower doses, whereas at higher doses it caused antisecretory and antidiarrheal activities that were partially inhibited in mice pretreated with naloxone (1.5 mg/kg), similar to loperamide. This study illustrates the presence of spasmodic (cholinergic) and antispasmodic (opioid agonist and Ca(2+) antagonist) effects, thus providing the possible explanation for the medicinal use of pepper and piperine in gastrointestinal motility disorders.
PMID: 20828313 DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2010.1065 J Med Food. 2010 Oct;13(5):1086-96. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2010.1065. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Antioxidant efficacy of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) and piperine in rats with high fat diet induced oxidative stress.
Vijayakumar RS, Surya D, Nalini N.
Abstract
The present study was aimed to explore the effect of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) on tissue lipid peroxidation, enzymic and non-enzymic antioxidants in rats fed a high-fat diet. Thirty male Wistar rats (95-115 g) were divided into 5 groups. They were fed standard pellet diet, high-fat diet (20% coconut oil, 2% cholesterol and 0.125% bile salts), high-fat diet plus black pepper (0.25 g or 0.5 g/kg body weight), high-fat diet plus piperine (0.02 g/kg body weight) for a period of 10 weeks. Significantly elevated levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), conjugated dienes (CD) and significantly lowered activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in the liver, heart, kidney, intestine and aorta were observed in rats fed the high fat diet as compared to the control rats. Simultaneous supplementation with black pepper or piperine lowered TBARS and CD levels and maintained SOD, CAT, GPx, GST, and GSH levels to near those of control rats. The data indicate that supplementation with black pepper or the active principle of black pepper, piperine, can reduce high-fat diet induced oxidative stress to the cells.
PMID: 15231065 DOI: 10.1179/135100004225004742 Redox Rep. 2004;9(2):105-10. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov