"Biomedical Applications of Black Pepper, the King of Spices: A Review"

Abstract

Piper nigrum L. is known worldwide as the king of spices because it contains extremely important medicinal component of piperine and adds flavours to every food. Piper nigrum belongs to the family Piperaceae and is commonly known and consumed as black pepper throughout the world. Historically, it has been used since 50,000 B.C. by humans as aroma enhancer to food and attracted the attention of ancient emperors and voyagers who fought several wars and invented sea routes for India. The attraction of Indian spices trade was the major objective of the foundation of British East India Company in 1600 and black pepper as food additive, taste enhancer with great medicinal value was commonly referred as “king of spices” and the black gold in international trade. Black pepper is a fruit part of the plant known as Peppercorn, when dried peppercorn is almost mature pepper berry. Piper nigrum contains phytochemicals that includes alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, and capsaicinoids. Black pepper also contains secondary metabolic active compounds that are used in various medicine formulations, and as food preservative. Piper nigrum is used in the treatment of various microbial diseases, cancer, diabetic, skin diseases, tooth ache, urinary tract infections, toxic mega-colon, auto-immune disorders, asthma, bronchitis, cough, sinus infection, measles, scabies, thyroid, obesity, gastrointestinal diseases, neurological, cardiovascular, and inflammatory diseases as well as pesticides, bactericides, insecticides and microbicide. In India people are using black pepper as home remedies for cough, throat pain, and indigestion of food. Black pepper is a useful spice having medicinal qualities that can be used in the making a number of foods with medical significance and also make food tasty, better and spicy. It showed antimicrobial activities which help in detoxification of the body.