|
==Traditional medicine, phytochemicals, and research==
[[File:Alice par John Tenniel 21.png|right|thumb|"There's certainly too much pepper in that soup!" Alice said to herself, as well as she could for sneezing. — ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1865). Chapter VI: Pig and Pepper. Note the cook's pepper mill.]]
Like many eastern spices, pepper was historically both a seasoning and a [[traditional medicine]]. Pepper appears in the Buddhist [[Samaññaphala Sutta]], chapter five, as one of the few medicines a monk is allowed to carry.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhistmonastic0000wija |title=Buddhist Monastic Code II |author=Thanissaro Bhikkhu |author-link=Thanissaro Bhikkhu |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=30 November 1990 |isbn=978-0-521-36708-0 |access-date=29 January 2008 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Long pepper, being stronger, was often the preferred medication, but both were used. Black pepper (or perhaps long pepper) was believed to cure several illnesses, such as [[constipation]], [[insomnia]], oral [[abscess]]es, [[sunburn]], and [[toothache]]s, among others.<ref>Turner, p. 160.</ref> Various sources from the fifth century onward recommended pepper to treat eye problems, often by applying salves or poultices made with pepper directly to the eye. Though current medical research has yet to confirm any treatment benefit to humans, several benefits have been shown in animal modeling experiments.<ref>Turner, p. 171.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23768180/ |pmid=23768180 |year=2013 |last1=Butt |first1=M. S. |last2=Pasha |first2=I. |last3=Sultan |first3=M. T. |last4=Randhawa |first4=M. A. |last5=Saeed |first5=F. |last6=Ahmed |first6=W. |title=Black pepper and health claims: A comprehensive treatise |journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition |volume=53 |issue=9 |pages=875–86 |doi=10.1080/10408398.2011.571799 |s2cid=4764467}}</ref><ref>[https://time.com/5503520/black-pepper-health-benefits/ Is Black Pepper Healthy? Here's What the Science Says] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031180228/https://time.com/5503520/black-pepper-health-benefits/ |date=31 October 2022 }} Time magazine, 16 January 2019</ref>
Pepper contains [[phytochemical]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dawid |first1=Corinna |last2=Henze|first2=Andrea |last3=Frank |first3=Oliver |last4=Glabasnia |first4=Anneke |last5=Rupp |first5=Mathias |last6=Büning |first6=Kirsten |last7=Orlikowski |first7=Diana |last8=Bader |first8=Matthias |last9=Hofmann |first9=Thomas |title=Structural and Sensory Characterization of Key Pungent and Tingling Compounds from Black Pepper (''Piper nigrum'' L.) |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |volume=60 |issue=11 |year=2012 |pages=2884–2895 |pmid=22352449 |doi=10.1021/jf300036a}}</ref> including [[amide]]s, [[piperidine]]s, and [[pyrrolidine]]s, and trace amounts of [[safrole]], which may be [[carcinogen]]ic in laboratory rodents.<ref name=duke>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-tg7R4hU8hkC&pg=PA395 |title=CRC Handbook of Alternative Cash Crops |author=James A. Duke |publisher=CRC Press |date=16 August 1993 |isbn=978-0-8493-3620-1 |page=395 |access-date=29 January 2009}}</ref>
[[Piperine]] is under study for its potential to increase absorption of [[selenium]], [[vitamin B12|vitamin B<sub>12</sub>]], [[beta-carotene]], and [[curcumin]], as well as other compounds.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1100/2012/637953 |title=A comprehensive review on pharmacotherapeutics of herbal bioenhancers |journal=The Scientific World Journal |year=2012 |volume=2012 |issue=637953 |pages=637953 |last1=Dudhatra |first1=GB |last2=Mody |first2=SK |last3=Awale |first3=MM |last4=Patel |first4=HB |last5=Modi |first5=CM |last6=Kumar |first6=A |last7=Kamani |first7=DR |last8=Chauhan |first8=BN |pmid=23028251 |pmc=3458266 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
Pepper is known to cause [[sneeze|sneezing]]. Some sources say that piperine, a substance present in black pepper, irritates the nostrils, causing the sneezing.<ref>U.S. Library of Congress Science Reference Services, "Everyday Mysteries", [https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/pepper.html Why does pepper make you sneeze?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031180231/https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/food-and-nutrition/item/why-does-pepper-make-you-sneeze/ |date=31 October 2022 }}. Retrieved 12 November 2005.</ref> Few, if any, controlled studies have been carried out to answer the question.
Piperine is also under study for a variety of possible physiological effects,<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr |year=2007 |volume=47 |issue=8 |pages=735–48 |title=Black pepper and its pungent principle–piperine: a review of diverse physiological effects |author=Srinivasan K |pmid=17987447 |doi=10.1080/10408390601062054 |s2cid=42908718}}</ref> although this work is preliminary and mechanisms of activity for piperine in the human body remain unknown.
===Nutrition===
In the quantities used in cooking, Black pepper is not a significant source of nutrients. One [[tablespoon]] (6 grams) of ground black pepper (far more than would be contained in a single serving of food) contains moderate amounts of [[vitamin K]] (13% of the [[daily value]] or DV), [[iron]] (10% DV), and [[manganese]] (18% DV), with trace amounts of other [[essential nutrients]], [[protein (nutrient)|protein]], and [[dietary fibre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/spices-and-herbs/200/2 |title=Nutrition facts for black pepper, one tablespoon (6 g); USDA Nutrient Database, version SR-21 |publisher=Conde Nast |date=2014 |access-date=25 October 2014}}</ref>
==Flavour==
|
