ABSTRACT
Black pepper oil is the essential oil obtained from the fruit of the (black) pepper, Piper nigrum L. The tropical forest of the Malabar region of southern India is considered to be the center of its origin; it is now widely cultivated in the tropics. The most important exporters of black pepper are India, Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. ‘Black pepper’ is obtained by sundrying green berries harvested before full maturity is reached, whereas fully ripe dried fruits devoid of pericarp form the commercial ‘white pepper’. The essential oil of black pepper is obtained by hydrodistillation of the black pepper fruits. Black pepper oil is a colorless or light yellow to blue, mobile liquid which has a terpenic, aromatic, somewhat spicy and herbaceous odor. Contact allergy to and possible allergic contact dermatitis from black pepper oil have been reported in one publication only. A false-positive patch test reaction due to the excited skin syndrome cannot be excluded.
