BLACK PEPPER
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter (fresh and fully mature), dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed.
Ground, dried, and cooked peppercorns have been used since antiquity, both for flavour and as a traditional medicine. Black pepper is the world’s most traded spice, and is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. Its spiciness is due to the chemical compound piperine,
A riddle authored by Saint Aldhelm, a seventh-century Bishop of Sherborne, sheds some light on black pepper’s role in England at that time:
I am black on the outside, clad in a wrinkled cover,
Yet within I bear a burning marrow.
I season delicacies, the banquets of kings, and the luxuries of the table,
Both the sauces and the tenderized meats of the kitchen.
But you will find in me no quality of any worth,
Unless your bowels have been rattled by my gleaming marrow.
Pepper contains phytochemicals, including amides, piperidines, pyrrolidines, and trace amounts of safrole, which may be carcinogenic in laboratory rodent
Piperine is under study for its potential to increase absorption of selenium, vitamin B12, beta-carotene, and curcumin, as well as other compounds.
Nutrition
One tablespoon (6 grams) of ground black pepper 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, and dietary fibre.
Nutritional Value Of Black Pepper
Black pepper has about 304 calories per 100 gm of weight. We can call it a ‘superfood’ as it is a rich source of a large number of nutrients. Below is a detailed account of the nutritional facts of black pepper.
- Total Calories – 304
- Protein – 11.5 g
- Total Carbohydrates – 49.2 g
- Dietary Fiber – 35.3 g
- Total Fat – 6.8 g
- Calcium – 460 mg
- Iron – 12.4 mg
- Magnesium – 171 mg
- Phosphorus – 198 mg
- Potassium – 1.4 g
- Sodium – 20 mg
- Zinc – 1.31 mg
- Copper – 1.4 mg
- Manganese – 4.14 mg
10 Health Benefits of Black Pepper
Black pepper is a rich source of antioxidants. These antioxidants work to fight free radicals, which are molecules, generated both outside and inside our body. Also Free radical generation and damage happen through chemicals, toxins, pollutants, pollution, harmful rays, etc. Some of these free radicals are also created naturally — while exercising, digesting food, etc. Exposure to these free radicals leads to bodily damage and may lead to significant health problems.
Studies have suggested that a diet high in antioxidants may help prevent or delay the damaging effects of free radicals. Black pepper contains the compound piperine which has been proved to have antioxidant effects and thus helps to prevent free radical damage to your cells.