Disclaimer. I am not a licensed health
practitioner. This is just another post on an item you might wish to
have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your
family as best as possible. No medication, including those available
over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.
Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes
only. It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical
care. A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should
be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.
Back
in the Dark Ages, when public education in this country was still
somewhat respectable, we learned about the spice trade between Europe
and India and how valuable pepper was. I couldn't believe that simple
black pepper, something that kinda looked like dirt (and which I never
used on my food as a kid), could be worth as much as or more than gold.
Even now it boggles my mind. It's just pepper. And it's odd to
me that we can't really grow it in this country, unless you live at the
southern tip of Florida or around Los Angeles or around the southern
part of the California-Arizona border.
In writing about
herbal medicine, I like to avoid things that can't be grown in most of
the country, because it's not sustainable. We can't replace it. It's
better to learn about something else. But I've decided to make an
exception for black pepper and it's chemical isolate, piperine. For
one, preppers tend to store some whole black pepper, so it will be
available to some extent. Secondly, piperine is relatively inexpensive,
so we can afford to stock a bit of it. And thirdly, and perhaps most
importantly, pepper and piperine can increase the bioavailability of a
whole host of herbs and drugs, making them more effective and stretching
our limited supply.
Historically, black pepper has been used to treat a variety of
conditions--diarrhea and constipation, gangrene, heart disease, hernia,
indigestion, joint pain, liver conditions, and lung diseases, but it was
really the go-to herb for dysentery, gastrointestinal diseases, urinary
problems, and rheumatism and neuralgia. The Chinese also used it for
treating epilepsy.
In vitro and in vivo
studies have shown that piperine enhances
the movement of herbs and drugs into the adrenals, brain, central
nervous system, kidneys, liver, uterus, and testes. Piperine will get
the herbs and drugs into those systems.
Whole black pepper itself has been shown to kill Staphylococcus aureus.
Black pepper essential oil is effective against Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger. Mix
a few drops into lotion or carrier oil to rub on sore joints and areas
afflicted by arthritis, gout, tendonitis, and rheumatism. Or massage
into the chest for congestion. Inhaling the aroma can help reduce
nicotine cravings in smokers and has been shown to stimulate the
appetite and aid swallowing in people with neurological disorders.
Black pepper essential oil may be safely taken
internally in small doses, but only if the oil is CO2 extracted, and not
steam distilled.
Black pepper tincture is made from whole black peppercorns (Piper nigrum) freshly ground. Previously ground pepper is
much less effective. For the tincture, use a ratio of 1:5 (one ounce
whole black peppercorns, freshly ground, by weight, to five ounces of
130-proof alcohol, by volume). The dosage recommended by Stephen Buhner in
his Herbal Antibiotics book is 5-15 drops, as needed.
Piperine, however, is fifteen times more effective. And it's relatively cheap, so makes sense
to have it on hand. (Normal dosage, say, to increase uptake of nutrients
from food, is 20 mg piperine per day; but piperine is best used to
treat acute conditions and should not be taken on a daily
basis.) If you run out of piperine and can't replace it, make the
tincture. In acute conditions, piperine should be taken in two doses,
of 20 mg each, 15-30 minutes before taking the other herbs you are
taking to treat your condition. Piperine stays in the body for six
hours. Even if you take the other herbs more often, piperine is only
taken twice per day. And the maximum is usually seven days. In
addition to the previously listed bacteria, piperine is also active
against the parasites Leishmania and Trypanosoma cruzi.
Piperine
has been shown to increase the bioavailability of numerous
pharmaceuticals 30-200%. It facilitates curcurmin by a whopping twenty
times. It also enhances the effect of juniper berry in treating urinary
tract infections.
Contraindications. Black
pepper and piperine may exacerbate GERD. The whole herb, black pepper,
is generally regarded as safe unless taken in huge doses, like a
teaspoon per day. Piperine, however, is shown to interfere with egg
implantation if taken long-term in high doses. In men, the effects are
much more severe. When taken long-term as a supplement in doses of just
70-80 mg per day, piperine decreases the weight of the testes, lowers
sperm production, diminishes the ability of the sperm to fertilize, and
decreases testosterone in the cells. Women who are trying to become
pregnant should not use it. Men with low testosterone levels should
also be cautious.
Caution. Piperine enhances
the bioavailability of dozens of drugs. Like all supplements, consult
with your physician before taking this or any other supplement, and more
especially so if you are taking any other medications. Piperine
especially enhances the permeability of the gastrointestinal wall.
Never take piperine with cholera or E. coli infections. Unless, of course, you want to be really sick.
Links to related posts:
Juniper
Herbal Antibiotics
For further reading:
(all articles accessed on 2 February 2019):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3634921/
http://tipsdiscover.com/health/herbal-antibiotics-black-pepperpiperine/
(Accessed 2 February 2019. Once again, this guy has posted the entire
chapter on black pepper/piperine from Stephen Buhner's Herbal Antibiotics.)
https://www.turmericforhealth.com/turmeric-benefits/health-benefits-of-black-pepper-and-turmeric
https://www.livestrong.com/article/116433-achilles-tendonitis-vs.-gout/
https://draxe.com/black-pepper-essential-oil/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17987447
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26560940
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23625885
https://foodfacts.mercola.com/black-pepper.html
https://www.isotrope.com/bioperine/
18 march 2019
17 april 2023
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