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Black pepper
CautionSchwarzer Pfeffer · (Piper nigrum)
Pepper family (Piperaceae)
Description
Black pepper is a tropical climbing vine of the pepper family that scrambles several metres up its supports. It originates on the Malabar Coast of south-western India and is now grown across South-East Asia and in Brazil. The flowers sit in hanging spikes that develop into tightly packed drupes. Black, white and green are not different species but the same fruit processed differently: black pepper is picked unripe and dried with the skin on, which wrinkles and darkens; white pepper comes from ripe fruits with the flesh removed; green pepper is pickled or quickly dried while unripe. The pungency comes from the alkaloid piperine, the aroma from the essential oil with limonene, pinene and β-caryophyllene. As a culinary spice, pepper is considered harmless in normal amounts. Concentrated piperine supplements are a different matter — they are often added to turmeric capsules: piperine can slow the breakdown of medicines in the liver and thereby strengthen their effect.
Dried peppercorns are a ubiquitous culinary seasoning; traditionally also used for cough, cold and digestive complaints (traditional use, not proof of efficacy). The aroma sits in the essential oil and escapes quickly once ground — which is why freshly ground pepper tastes distinctly stronger than ready-made powder.
Sources: [1]
Piperine can increase the absorption and plasma levels of other substances by inhibiting metabolic enzymes (CYP3A4) and the transporter P-glycoprotein; this has been shown in studies. This is exactly what the common combination of turmeric and pepper extract relies on: piperine slows the breakdown of curcumin. But the same mechanism applies to medicines metabolised via CYP3A4 — what is desirable for a spice is a risk for a drug.
In India, black pepper and the related long pepper (Piper longum) are considered to promote milk supply. There are no sound clinical trials for this — the lactation database LactMed explicitly lists this use as unsupported.
Sources: [4]
Safe as a culinary spice in normal amounts. Caution with concentrated piperine supplements: piperine inhibits drug-metabolising enzymes (CYP3A4, CYP2C9) and P-glycoprotein and can raise the blood levels of some medicines (e.g. carbamazepine, midazolam, diclofenac, phenytoin, possibly warfarin and digoxin). Anyone taking medication should seek medical advice before using piperine supplements. Note that piperine is added to many turmeric capsules without appearing in the product name.
Customary and harmless as a spice in food. Concentrated piperine supplements have not been studied in pregnancy and are therefore not advisable.
Piperine passes into breast milk. After ordinary culinary amounts the levels are, according to LactMed, far below the taste threshold and thus harmless. There are no studies on piperine-containing supplements during breastfeeding.
Harmless as a spice. Whole peppercorns do not belong in small children's hands — they can be inhaled. Piperine supplements have not been studied in children.
Drug interactions
Über CYP3A4 abgebaute Arzneimittel (z. B. Carbamazepin, Midazolam, viele Statine)
Piperine inhibits CYP3A4 and thereby slows the breakdown of these agents. Their blood levels and side effects can rise. This concerns supplements, not seasoning.
Substrate von P-Glykoprotein (z. B. Digoxin)
Piperine inhibits the transporter P-glycoprotein, which pumps such agents back out of the gut wall. More is absorbed than intended — and with digoxin the gap between effect and overdose is narrow.
Gerinnungshemmer vom Cumarin-Typ (Warfarin, Phenprocoumon)
Breakdown runs partly via CYP2C9, which piperine also inhibits. A stronger anticoagulant effect is possible; therefore use piperine supplements only after consulting a doctor.
Contraindications
- Piperine supplements while taking medicines with a narrow therapeutic range (digoxin, phenytoin, coumarins, immunosuppressants) — only after consulting a doctor.
- Acute inflammatory gastrointestinal disease — pungent spices can aggravate the symptoms.
Harvested part: Fruits (peppercorns)
- Time of day:
- The whole spike is picked as soon as its first fruits turn from green to red. For black pepper still unripe — waiting for full ripeness gives a milder corn.
- Drying:
- For black pepper the fruits are briefly blanched and then sun-dried; the skin browns and wrinkles. For white pepper, ripe fruits are soaked for several days until the flesh comes away.
- Storage:
- 24 months — Store whole corns airtight, dark and dry; the aroma then keeps for two years and longer. Ground pepper loses it within a few months.
- PiperinAlkaloidContent: 2–9 %Fruit
Carrier of both the pungency and the interactions with medicines.
- Piperanin und weitere Piperin-VerwandteAlkaloidFruit
- Ätherisches Öl (Limonen, α- und β-Pinen, β-Caryophyllen, Sabinen)Essential oilContent: 1–3 %Fruit
Carries the aroma; escapes within a few weeks after grinding.
- β-CaryophyllenSesquiterpeneFruit
- Flavonoide (u. a. Kaempferol, Quercetin)FlavonoidFruit
- [2]MonographPiperine inhibits human P-glycoprotein and CYP3A4 (Bhardwaj et al., J Pharmacol Exp Ther)(accessed: 2026-06-23)
- [3]MonographPiperine Drug Interactions — Pharmacy Times(accessed: 2026-06-23)
- [4]MonographBlack Pepper — Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), NCBI Bookshelf NBK579035(accessed: 2026-08-20)
- [1]WikipediaBlack pepper — Wikipedia(accessed: 2026-06-23)
- [5]CommonsFile:Pepper.jpg — Wikimedia Commons(accessed: 2026-06-23)