SCIENTISTS IN THE WEST ARE INTRIGUED BY PEPPER’S ABILITY TO QUELL INFLAMMATION. EXPERIMENTS SUGGEST THE SPICE COULD HAVE A ROLE IN COMBATING CANCER. BETEL, ONE OF PEPPER’S SIBLINGS, APPEARS TO BE A PROMISING TREATMENT FOR THE PARASITIC DISEASE LEISHMANIASIS. Piper nigrum L. (Piperacea) has insecticidal properties and could potentially be utilized as an alternative to synthetic insecticides. —JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY Traditional plant remedies, particularly those used in traditional Chinese medicine and Indian Ayurvedic medicine have, in many cases, been observed to yield positive results. —PLANTA MEDICA “Many physiological effects of black pepper, its extracts or its major active principle, piperine, have been reported in recent decades.” —KRISHNAPURA SRINIVASAN, DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND NUTRITION, CENTRAL FOOD TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, MYSORE, INDIA The healthful properties attributed to pepper some four hundred years ago—its ability to soothe the lungs, vanquish fevers, ease a variety of aches and pains, and even reduce the size of tumors—is gaining traction today.
