- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- Malabar Coast of southern India (Kerala); long pepper from north-east India and the Himalayan foothills. Piper nigrum, Piper longum
- Sanskrit
- Maricha, Pipali
- Other names
- Zwarte en lange peper, Lange peper, Pippali
Asia · Herb · № 135
Piper nigrum
Herb · Asia
Black pepper and long pepper
Piper nigrum
Important warming spices in Ayurveda, used for sluggish digestion and colds. Piperine from pepper increases the absorption of some substances, such as curcumin.
Safety notes
Safe as a spice. Piperine may raise blood levels of some medicines; use caution with concentrated supplements.
Cautions by tradition (3)
- Ayurvedic materia medica: Serious illnesses such as infections, cancer or hepatitis need a doctor: there is no evidence that this remedy cures them.
- Everyday Ayurveda: Not excessively (bad for the skin).
- Chinese materia medica: Not with heat from excess or deficiency.
Preparation
As spice in dishes; in Ayurveda in the blend trikatu (black pepper, long pepper and ginger). No dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
Pepper was so valuable that it served as currency in the Roman Empire and drove European traders to sail to India. In antiquity long pepper was even better known in Europe than black pepper. Ody describes trikatu as a classic Ayurvedic blend.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Herbal medicine worldwide
Attributed effects
Antiseptic, antibacterial, carminative, stimulates digestion and circulation; externally skin-stimulating.
Preparation and amount
simmer 10 peppercorns with a slice of galangal per cup for nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and bloating from cold; long pepper (3 pods) in milk in the morning for chronic respiratory complaints; trikatu (black pepper, long pepper, ginger) a pinch at a time in food; long pepper on toothache; oil in cayenne oil as massage.
Ayurvedic materia medica
Attributed effects
Stimulates the heart, carminative, cleansing, tonic, laxative, aids digestion, antiseptic, anthelmintic, promotes menstruation; for indigestion, wind, cough, chronic bronchitis, asthma, enlarged spleen, paralysis, gout, rheumatism, lumbago; bleeding after childbirth. Pungent, warming, carminative, antimalarial; externally skin-stimulating for boils, sore throat, haemorrhoids, paralysis, rheumatic pain, headache, toothache; internally for indigestion, wind, weakness, diarrhoea, cholera, urinary complaints, cough, malaria.
Preparation and amount
Fruit powder 0.5–1.5 g, optionally with a little honey; root. Ground pepper, usually 0.5–1 g a day, or as a spice in dishes; paste externally.
Caution: Serious illnesses such as infections, cancer or hepatitis need a doctor: there is no evidence that this remedy cures them.
Everyday Ayurveda
Attributed effects
Warming, aids digestion, helps with weight loss; prevents respiratory complaints, seasonal allergy, colds and cough.
Preparation and amount
Freshly ground in dishes (e.g. pasta); in stewed fruit; especially in winter and spring.
Caution: Not excessively (bad for the skin).
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- pungent, hot
- Meridians
- spleen, lung, kidney, stomach, large intestine
Attributed effects
Long pepper (bi ba) drives cold from stomach and intestine in abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, belching and heartburn, and is used externally on toothache.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 1–3 g a day, usually in a decoction. In Ayurveda long pepper, black pepper and dried ginger together form trikatu.
Caution: Not with heat from excess or deficiency.
Folklore and herbal magic
Symbolic meanings from folk use and modern herbal magic. These are handed-down associations, not effects.
Protection, purification.
Home, kitchen and folk use
Preparation and amount
Seasoning in soups.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- DecoctionCompress, poultice and pasteSyrup, honey and oxymelPowder and kitchen