Black pepper plant

Scientific name of Black pepper plant: Piper nigrum

Name of Black pepper in different languages:-

Sanscrit: Maricham

Hindi: Kalamirchi

Malayalam: Kurumulak കുരുമുളക്

Tamil: மிளகு-Milaku

Plant description:

Black pepper plant – Piper nigrum is a climber vine of the tropical area commonly in South India. Leaves are dark green pointed at the end, climbing with the support tree grows up to 30 m. tall. Flowering is in June and seeds are green occur with leaf buds, which grows like a spike called peppercorn in clusters, seeds are dark green and it turns orange-red when ripe. Dried fruits are called Black pepper which is medically important in Ayurveda treatments.

Ripe fruits	Dried Fruits

Leaf Arrangement 

Shape-ovate	Margin-Entire	Venation-Arcuate

Useful plant parts: Seed, root

Medicinal uses:

Black pepper is used to treat rheumatism, flu, colds, increase blood circulation, muscular aches, stimulates appetite, tones the colon muscles, vertigo, paralytic, arthritic disorders and digestive tonic.

Chemical content: piptigrine, piperine, dipiperamides

Medicinal properties: Antibacterial, Anti-inflammatory, Antilarval, Gastrointestinal effects, bacteriostatic, fungi static.

Different type of Peppers under various process

Black pepper - Half boiled and dried unripe fruit

White pepper - Ripe fruit pealed and dried 

Green pepper - Unripe fruit dried fruit

Red pepper -  Ripe drupes preserved in brine and vinegar to keep the redness

How to prepare medicines:

Black pepper is the one of the ingredient in the Ayurveda medicines like-