In the vernacular, black pepper is considered the “healthy sheep maker”. Preferably, it is known as a spicy companion to a tasty cuisine. However, black pepper also has a lot to offer as a medicinal plant, because the main component is the active ingredient piperine, which has a positive effect on various disease complaints.
Occurrence and cultivation of black pepper
Black pepper stimulates digestion, relieves rheumatic pain, relieves coughs and cramps, and fights skin blemishes. It doesn’t matter if pepper is black, red, green or white, it always comes from the same exotic velcro plant. For the production of black pepper, the unripe berries are dried in the sun before harvesting. The ingredient piperine, which is important for herbal medicine, goes back to the scientific name of the pepper plant: Piperaceae. It is an alkaloid that is responsible for the pungent taste. The plant is a pepper shrub from the pepper family. The scientific name Piper nigrum gives the botanical name black pepper. Contrary to the name, the berries are not always black, but also green, white or red, depending on the time of harvest. The pepper plant is a perennial climber that grows up trees and becomes woody with age. In uncultivated wild stands, it can reach growth heights of up to ten meters. In cultivated stands, however, pepper plants are limited to a growth height of three to four meters. Cultivated pepper plants bear hermaphrodite flowers. They are inconspicuous and have spikes ten centimeters long that bear fifty to 150 individual flowers. The fruits ripen eight to nine months after fertilization. They are called drupes. Pepper is harvested twice a year. The perennial climber can remain productive for up to thirty years under good conditions. The natural stands are native to India. However, with colonization by England and France, the pepper plant also became very popular in European countries and the spice was imported in large quantities. How important pepper was in the late 19th century, early 20th century, the heyday of the English and French colonies, shows that pepper, in turn, was even weighed in gold. Nowadays, in addition to India, Vietnam, Brazil and Malaysia are the main growing countries. About 200,000 tons of pepper are produced annually. Although black pepper records many different healing effects, its fame as a medicinal plant is only gradually gaining acceptance, as its popularity as a spice continues to dominate.
Effect and application
Pepper gets its colors due to different ways of processing. In addition to black pepper, there are also red, green and white pepper. The most important phytochemical is piperine, which is often referred to as a medicinal all-purpose weapon. In addition, derivatives act the piperettin, piperylin, piperanin and chavicin. These derivatives are also known as alkamides (acid amide alkaloids). Other constituents include flavonoids, fatty oil, rhamnetin, kaempferol and quercetin. Black pepper stimulates digestion, relieves rheumatic pains, soothes coughs and cramps, and fights skin blemishes. It is effective against all types of colds such as sore throat, bronchitis and fever, and addresses muscle-related tension and pain. It inhibits the production of new fat cells and brings down high blood pressure. The pungent ingredients have a warming effect, so Ayurvedic medicine advises people who are often cold to consume more pepper. Its pungency represents a pain stimulus for the human organism, which is responsible for the body’s production of endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are also popularly known as happiness hormones. Accordingly, black pepper has a mood-lifting effect and combats depression. It thus ensures a general feeling of well-being. In case of digestive disorders, it ensures orderly secretion of digestive juices and increases the motility of intestinal villi. Pungent and bitter substances have been proven to have a positive effect on fat and metabolism. Therefore, black pepper is also a slimming agent. It inhibits the growth of bacteria and acts as a powerful insecticide.
Importance for health, treatment and prevention.
For medicinal purposes, the full-grown green fruits are used in unpeeled and dried form. People perceive the taste of pepper as hot and burning, which is due to the excitation of pain and heat receptors. The reflexive response is increased secretion of salivary and gastric juices. Pepper stimulates appetite with simultaneous increased secretion of digestive enzymes. At the same time, the pungent bitter substances have a positive effect on the metabolism due to the action of the heat receptors. For this reason, pepper is said to have slimming properties. Those who are not familiar with herbal and medical science must refrain from using the pepper plant in unprocessed form on their own responsibility, as pungent and bitter substances such as flavonoids, alkaloids and essential oils can irritate the skin and mucous membranes. They are concentrated and broken down further. Naturopathy and medicine therefore use these ingredients exclusively in diluted and potentized form. In particular, intolerance to essential oils and substances contained therein, such as menthol, in the form of allergies and asthmatic attacks cannot be ruled out. Ayurvedic medicine values pepper for its stimulating properties to “Agni”, which in Sanskrit stands for the life element “fire”. According to ancient Indian medicine, “Agni” also includes all metabolic processes of the human organism. Western herbal medicine refers to these processes as oxygen combustion (oxidation) and uses black pepper against all kinds of digestive disorders so that digestive juices flow more freely and harmful and waste substances are flushed out of the body. In accordance with Ayurvedic medicine, the “digestive fire” is ignited. Ayurvedic therapists use pepper for loss of appetite, hemorrhoids and flatulence. The adage “a lot helps a lot” does not always apply, but “less is sometimes more”, because the mucous membranes and taste receptors of the human organism do not like too much exposure to pungent ingredients and flavors, which can cause irritation in case of overdose.
