Piper

Pepper

Black pepper. The unripe berries of Piper nigrum Linné (Nat. Ord. Piperaceae). (U. S. P.) Poivre noir, Fr.; Schwarzer Pfeffer, Ger.

Composition

Pepper contains a resin and an essential oil, and a neutral crystallizable principle (piperin).

Oleo-resina Piperis

Oleo-resin of black pepper. This contains the active constituents of pepper, and is an eligible preparation. Dose,

τη j—τη v.

Piperinum

Piperin. A proximate principle of feebly alkaloidal power, prepared from pepper, and occurring also in other plants of the natural order Piperaceae. Colorless or pale yellowish, shining, four-sided prisms, permanent in the air, odorless and almost tasteless when first put in the stomach, but on prolonged contact producing a biting sensation. It has a neutral reaction, is almost insoluble in water, but soluble in thirty parts of alcohol at 60° Fahr. Dose, gr. j—gr. x.