Black pepper

Piper nigrum · 胡椒

Spices. Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine.

Also called Peppercorn, Kali mirch, Maricha, Hu jiao

Pinyin: Hú Jiāo

Spanish: Pimienta negra

Sanskrit: मरिच (Maricha)

Boosts some medicine levels

A sharp, hot spice made from the dried, unripe fruit of a tropical vine, used to season food and as a digestive aid in traditional medicine.

Did you know? In 408 AD the Visigoths besieging Rome reportedly demanded 3,000 pounds of pepper as part of the ransom.

What it may help, and how strong the proof is

Digestion & gut health. Long used to ease gas and sluggish digestion. Good human trials are missing; the proof is mostly tradition and lab work.
Traditional proof
Sore throat & cough. Pepper with honey is a folk cough remedy. No good trials have tested it.
Traditional proof
Inflammation. Piperine, the pepper's main active compound, calms inflammation in lab and animal studies. Good human trials are missing.
Traditional proof

Parts of the body

Gut & intestines, Stomach, Mouth & throat, Lungs, Immune system, Joints

Traditional use

Ayurveda uses pepper, called maricha, to kindle digestion. Chinese medicine uses hu jiao to warm the middle of the body and ease cold stomach pain and poor digestion.

How it is classified

Herbal actions: Carminative, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial. Energy: warming.
Ayurveda: Calms Vata and Kapha. Can raise Pitta. Taste (rasa): pungent. Energy (virya): heating. After digestion (vipaka): pungent. Deepana (kindles digestion).
Chinese medicine: 胡椒 Warm the interior. Nature: hot. Flavour: pungent. Enters the Stomach and Large Intestine channels.

How people take it

Used in everyday cooking as ground pepper, to taste. Piperine capsules are sold to boost absorption of other compounds; no standard dose is set for that use.

Food, powder and capsule.

Where to get it

Grown on climbing vines in tropical places such as southern India, Vietnam and Indonesia. Black pepper is picked unripe and dried, while white pepper is ripe fruit with the outer layer removed. Sold whole, ground, and as piperine capsules.

Be careful

Food amounts are safe for nearly everyone. Large amounts can cause heartburn, stomach upset and throat irritation. Piperine can raise blood levels of some medicines, so people on regular medicine should check with a pharmacist before taking supplements.

Avoid if: stomach ulcers; acid reflux; pregnancy (supplement amounts).

Mixing with other things

Works well together
Piperine boosted absorption of curcumin, the active part of turmeric, many times over in a small study of healthy adults.
Works well together
Both are peppery spices that were traded and used side by side.
Works well together
Long pepper and black pepper are both pepper spices. Trikatu combines them with ginger.
Works well together
Ground together in many Indian spice blends and curries.
Works well together
Common partners in Indian masala and chai spice blends.
Works well together
Whole peppercorns and bay leaves often flavor stocks and braises together.
Use caution
Blood pressure medicine (lisinopril, amlodipine, losartan)
Piperine raised blood levels of propranolol, a heart and blood pressure drug, in a small study.

Found in these formulas

Trikatu (Ayurveda), Golden milk (Ayurveda), Masala chai (Ayurveda)

The honest take

Black pepper is a safe, useful spice. Its best science is about piperine, which helps other compounds get absorbed, and not about pepper itself. Claims that pepper helps digestion, pain or infection rest mainly on tradition and lab work.