Botany
Paminta is a stout climber with
smooth branches, 2 to 3.5 mm in diameter. Leaves are somewhat leathery, broadly ovate to oblong-elliptic, 10 to 13
cm long, 3.5 to 8 cm wide, with pointed, rounded, or heart-shaped based, 7-plinerved, smooth on both surfaces. Rachis is hairy. Bracts of the female cupular receptacles are short, whole, adnate, without raised margins. Flowers are usually dioceous
(having the male and female organs). Female spikes are pendulous, 6.5 to 10.5 cm long. Fruits are crowded, sessile, rounded, about 4 mm long, 3 mm in diameter, with 3 or 4 stigmas.
Distribution
Limited cultivation in the Philippines.
Also cultivated in all tropical countries of the Old World, and also in Brazil and in the West Indies.
Constituents
- Black pepper has been found to contain piperine, alkamides, piptigrine, wisanine, dipiperamide D, and dipiperamide E.
-
The pepper contains an active resin (oleoresin, responsible for the known
pungent taste and aromatic odor), a volatile oil, starch, gum, a small quantity of fatty oil in the mesocarp, and about 5% of inorganic matter, besides the alkaloid, peperine, and a volatile alkaloid probably identical with pepperidine.
-
Contains an alkaloid piperine, 5 - 9%;
piperidine, 5%; mesocarp contains chavicine.
- Piperine the active principle, has the same chemical composition as morphine, although it is almost devoid of taste, color or smell, and is resolvable into piperic acid and a colorless liquid alkaloid, piperidine.
Properties
Considered acrid, astringent, rubifacient, stimulant, counterirritant, stomachic,
carminative.
Roots considered tonic, stimulant, cordial and anthelmintic.
Parts utilized
Roots, leaves, seeds.
Uses
Edibility / Culinary
• The dried fruits furnish the
black pepper of commerce. When the outer shell is removed, the product
is white pepper.
• The use of pepper as spice and condiment dates back to early times.
• Used for large-scale preservation of food, sausage making, etc.
 Folkloric
In the Philippines, used as stimulant and rubefacient. Piperine also used as antiperiodic.
Decoction used as mouthwash for toothache; rubifacient in alopeicia and
skin diseases.
Liniment used in chronic rheumatism.
Used in dyspepsia, flatulence, gonorrhea, cough, hemorrhoids and intermittent fevers.
Decoction used for obstinate intermittent fever and flatulent dyspepsia.
Used a febrifuge, with brandy and anise, in various forms of malarial fevers.
Externally pepper is rubefacient and used as counterirritant.
In decoction, used as mouthwash for toothache.
Used as rubefacient in alopecia and skin diseases.
Infusion used as gargle for afflictions of the throat.
Juice of leaves boiled in oil and applied externally for scabies.
Ointment mixed with lard used against Tinea capitis.
Used in shellfish and mushroom poisoning.
Mixed with honey and ginger, used by Malay as abortifacient.
Roots used as antihelmintic.
Toasted berries used for stopping vomiting associated with cholera.
Used for vertigo, paralytic and arthritic disorders.
Black pepper is corrective for fish, flesh, shell-fish and mushroom poisoning.
Malay women use black pepper as an abortifacient, taken in pills with honey and ginger.
In Iraian traditional medicine, used to relieve
menorrhagia in women.
In Ayurveda, paste of black pepper is used
for boils, piles, rheumatic pains, headache, prolapsed rectum, toothaches.
Pepper is given for dyspepsia, flatulence, diarrhea, cholea, cough, gonorrhea
and malarial fever.
Studies
• Spasmolytic / Anti-menorrhagia: (1) There was spasmolytic effect of the black
pepper extract probably through involved voltage dependent calcium channels
and B-adrenoreceptors. (2) Spasmolytic
Activity of Piper Nigrum Fruit Aqueous Extract on Rat Non-Pregnant Uterus: The results support the traditional use of black
pepper for relief of menorrhagia.
• Anticholinesterase Inhibitory Activity: In vitro study of extracxxt of P. nigrum seeds showed 50-65% inhibitory activity on acetylcholinesterase.
• Antispasmodic: Antispasmodic Effect of P Nigrum Fruit Hot Water Extract
on Rat Ileum: Study showed spasmolytic effect on rat ileum probably
mediated via Ca+ influx.
• Analgesic: Analgesic Activity Of Piper Nigrum Extract Per Se And Its Interaction
With Diclofenac Sodium And Pentazocine In Albino Mice: Piper nigrum alone did not show any significant analgesic activity. However
PN extract significantly increased the analgesic activity of diclofenac
sodium and pentazocine.
• Pharmacognostical Studies: Root distillation yielded 0.39% essential oi, with a total yield of 0.79% piperine from the root.
• Neural Effects: In vitro study using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology, piperine, a pungent alkaloid, showed a similar agonist effect on human vanilloid receptonr TRPV1 as capsaicin. Piperine, however, could induce greater receptor desensitization and exhibit greater efficacy than capsaicin.
• Antibacterial: (1) Study yielded an isobutyleicosatrienamide, pellitorine, trachone, pergumidiene and isopiperolein B. All the isolated compounds were active against B subtilis, B spaericus, K aerogenes and Chromobacterium violaceum. (2) Study results showed excellent inhibition of the growth of Gram positive bacteria ( Staph aureus, followed by Bacillus cereus and Strep faecalis) and Gram negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa followed by Salmonella typhi and E coli.)
• Larvicidal : Study demonstrated the potential of P nigrum extracts against larvae of Cx quinquefasciatus and its benefits for the development of new cost-effective and environmentally friendly larvicide for mosquito control.
• Antiepileptic : Study demonstrated anticonvulsant activity of the water extract of P nigrum attributed to an antagonistic action at NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors.
• Antioxidant : Study showed both water extract and ethanol extract exhibited strong total antioxidant activity.
• Anti-Inflammatory: Study in Wistar albino rats of a polyhedral formulation containing extracts from seven medicinal plants including P. nigrum showed 31.3% inhibition against carrageenan-induced acute inflammation.
• Diabetes Protective Effects: Study in Alloxan-induced diabetic rats showed oxidative stress playing a key role in diabetes, and treatment with P. nigrum and V. rosea are useful in controlling not only glucose and lipid levels but may also help in strengthening the antioxidant potential.
• Anti-Hepatotoxic / Antioxidant: Study showed an ethanol extract of P. nigrum root is an efficient hepatoprotective and antioxidant agent against CCl4-induced liver injury. The hepatoprotective effect was supported by histopathological observations.
• Hepatoprotective: Study showed the ethanol extract of P. nigrum significantly reduced the HP, serum enzymes and TBL and inhibited fibrosis induced by thioacetamide.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
