ABSTRACT
Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is known as ‘black gold’ due to its widespread utilization and its importance in international trade and economy. Black pepper cultivation has its origins in India and it has been a part of Indian cuisine and traditional and folk medicine for centuries due to its potential benefits to health and treating ailments when taken with food, on its own or in concoctions. The recent trend of using phytochemical components as therapeutic agents to mitigate various chronic and acute diseases has paved the way to understanding various constituents of black pepper that can protect, prevent, and treat diseases and disorders. Several studies have also investigated the therapeutic effect of black pepper and its derived bio-actives. This chapter describes the various chemical constituents and the corresponding physiological activities along with their mechanisms of action.
