Pepper – 1 lb (454 g)

Pepper, known in Chinese as 胡椒 (Hújiāo) and scientifically as Fructus Piperis, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Pepper carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Pepper helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Pepper provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Pepper has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Pepper, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This herb is also known as Floating Pepper and Jade Pepper. It is the nearly mature or mature fruit of Piper nigrum L., a plant of the Piperaceae family. It is mainly produced in Yunnan, Hainan, Guangxi, and other regions. Fruits are harvested when dark green from late autumn to the following spring and sun-dried to produce “black pepper”; fruits harvested when red are soaked in water for several days to remove the pericarp, then sun-dried to produce “white pepper”.

[Properties] Pungent in taste, hot in nature. Enters the Stomach and Large Intestine meridians.

[Actions] Warms the middle burner and disperses cold, descends qi and resolves phlegm.

[Applications]
1. Used for stomach cold abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. For middle burner stomach cold with epigastric and abdominal cold pain, often combined with dried ginger and galangal; for stomach cold with rebellious qi causing vomiting and hiccup, can be combined with pinellia and fresh ginger; for summer vomiting and diarrhea, can be combined with mung bean powder and taken with papaya decoction; for middle burner cold damp obstruction causing unremitting diarrhea due to impaired transformation, often used alone as powder applied to the navel, or combined with stir-fried atractylodes, roasted costus, and roasted nutmeg decoction for internal use. This herb also has an appetite-stimulating effect and can be used for poor appetite.
2. Used for phlegm and qi stagnation causing obstruction of the orifices and epilepsy with excessive phlegm, can be combined with equal parts of piper longum powder for oral administration, or pepper placed inside radish and dried in shade, then powdered and taken orally.
Additionally, this herb can be used for cold-type toothache, often combined with piper longum powder and applied into carious cavities; for frostbite, it can be soaked in white wine and applied topically.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction 3–6 g; powder 0.6–1.5 g; or included in pills and powders. External use: appropriate amount, powdered and applied as a compress or placed in plasters for topical application.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in cases of yin deficiency with fire excess; use with caution during pregnancy.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: The fruit contains piperine and chavicine. It also contains volatile oils including heliotropine, dihydrocarveol, caryophyllene oxide, piperitone, and trans-rosmarinol. The fruit also contains piperamide and various piperidine amides.
2. Pharmacological effects: Pepper has inhibitory effects on the central nervous system. Piperine can prolong pentobarbital-induced sleep time in rats and has significant antagonistic effects against pentylenetetrazol-induced convulsions and electroshock seizures; pepper and piperine promote bile secretion; piperine inhibits various acute and chronic inflammations; piperine also has hypertensive effects.
3. Clinical reports:
1) Pediatric diarrhea: 10 fresh pepper fruits ground into fine powder, mixed with yellow or white wine into a paste, applied to the Shenque (CV8) point on the child’s navel. Severe cases changed every 10 hours, mild cases every 14–16 hours. Before each application, the navel and surrounding four points were cleaned with alcohol swabs. Results: after 3 days of treatment, 42 cases (72.4%) effective, 16 cases (27.6%) markedly effective. [Henan Medical Information, 2002, 10(22):33]
2) Supraventricular tachycardia: 0.1 g pepper powder blown alternately into each nostril using a plastic straw until nasal irritation induced multiple sneezes, ending treatment. Among 46 cases, 91% (42/46) successfully induced continuous sneezing, and 24% (11/46) terminated tachycardia episodes. [Chinese Folk Therapy, 2002, 10(11):32]
3) Cough: pepper and menthol oil mixed appropriately, spread on a 3cm×5cm Zhui Feng plaster, applied to bilateral Feishu (BL13) points, changed every 8–12 hours, one course is 5 days. Among 166 cases, 121 cured (72.89%), 36 improved (21.69%), 9 ineffective (5.42%), total effective rate 94.58%. [Journal of External TCM Therapy, 2001, 10(6):48]
4) Deficiency cold epigastric pain: 1 egg beaten in a bowl, 7 black pepper fruits ground into fine powder mixed into the egg, cooked with boiling water, taken once daily on an empty stomach in the morning or once before sleep, one course is 1 month. Among 62 cases, 39 cases symptoms disappeared after one course and cured after 3–6 courses; 15 cases disappeared after 3 courses; 8 cases no improvement. [Chinese Folk Therapy, 2001, 9(12):58]
5) Toothache: 2 g pepper and 2 g blue salt ground into fine powder, applied to painful area. Over 100 cases treated with satisfactory results. [Shandong Medicine, 1984, (6):8]
6) Hand and foot carbuncles: 7 white pepper fruits ground into fine powder placed inside pig gallbladder, then affected fingers or toes placed inside and fixed with adhesive tape, changed daily. Over 70 cases treated with good results. [Shandong Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1996, 15(2):87]
7) Common and flat warts: 30 g white pepper, 20 g gallnut, 5 g peppermint ice ground into fine powder for external application once or several times daily. Among 40 common wart cases and 79 flat wart cases, 33 and 67 cured respectively; 2 and 4 effective; 5 and 8 ineffective respectively. [Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1993, 34(10):616]