As the popularity of essential oils has grown, black pepper essential oil has also become prominent. In cuisines all across the world, whether Asian, Italian, French or American, Black Pepper is one of the most commonly and widely used spices.
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While the most common purpose for it to be used as a seasoning, it is also quite well known for its medicinal properties as well as in perfumes. Scientifically called Piper nigrum, black pepper essential oil has many uses, benefits, and there are many different ways of using this essential oil as well, which we shall be exploring.
What Makes Black Pepper So Special
Black pepper oil is an unusual essential oil with a blend of warm, spicy and a musky aroma. It helps in promoting emotional balance, with the active ingredient of piperine. This herb has an enriched chemical composition, including oleoresins, volatile oils, and alkaloids.
Recently these ingredients have shown chemoprotective properties, and they help boost cognitive functioning, and digestive functions
How Black Pepper Oil Is Made
For black pepper essential oil, doTERRA is a particularly special brand, selling the highest quality oil. There are different ways in which this essential oil can be made. Usually, black pepper essential oil’s uses determine how this oil is made.
The most common method of making Black pepper essential oil is to add peppercorn to olive oil, and cook it lightly. The heat should be sufficient, but not too high, so that it doesn’t end up burning and destroying the olive oil. Keep in mind that a lot of peppercorn is required for creating this essential oil. It is important to keep some considerations in mind, however. For starters, do not cook the oil for more than 5 minutes, as it can affect the healing properties of the oil itself.
Other blends of this essential oil include mixing the peppercorn into clove oil, peppermint oil, or to mix the combination of olive oil or coconut oil and peppercorn with herbs, such as basil, bergamot, lemon, cinnamon, and wintergreen. Usually, these blends help in boosting particular properties of black pepper and are intended for specific purposes, such as muscle relaxation and digestion improvement.
With respect to black pepper essential oil, doTERRA is perhaps the best place to buy it from, as it provides a universal blend of peppercorn and olive oil that can be used for multiple purposes, and to attain various benefits from just one blend.
Black Pepper Essential Oil Uses and Benefits
There are various uses for this particular essential oil. The essential oil contains an active ingredient, called piperine, which is useful to the human body. Each of the uses of the Piper Nigrum is mentioned below.
- Digestion
Among black pepper essential oil’s uses, the most common use is for its properties of helping the digestive system in our bodies run smoothly. Due to its anti-pasmodic properties, it acts as an antidiarrheal. It is also gastro-protective, and helps to relieve any digestion problems, including diarrhoea, constipation, and gas. It benefits the digestive organs by boosting the excretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which aids proper digestion of food.
- Antiviral
Modern medicine has now come to the conclusion, based on many studies, that due to the overuse of antibiotics, bacteria and infections have grown stronger. This is because these bacteria have evolved overtime, and become resistant to many drugs, which have been commonly used in the manufacturing of antibiotics. As far as black pepper essential oil is concerned, it contains not just antidiarrheal but also anti-virulence characteristics, which help in fighting viruses. Because this is a natural remedy, it prevents cells from becoming non-viable and thus preventing the bacteria from becoming drug-resistant.
- Anticancer
An important use of this essential oil is its property of being an anti-cancerous agent. Several studies have highlighted how black pepper has several active ingredients, enhanced when it becomes an oil, that can actually slow down the growth of cancerous cells in the body, or any other autoimmune build up.
- Stimulant
Black pepper essential oil is an excellent stimulant for blood circulation as well as the circulation of mucus and other body fluids. It is therefore known as an anti-arthritis as well. It helps stimulate these body fluids, due to its warming effect. It is particularly helpful for arthritis and rheumatic pain during winters. It also provides long-term benefits to those suffering from joint pain by reducing their uric acid levels, and removing other toxins present in the body.
- Anti-Bacterial
Black pepper essential oil is known for its anti-bacterial properties. The best part about using this as an anti-bacterial agent is the fact that this essential oil has no side effects on your body. It is excellent and highly suggested for any sort of infections, especially in sensitive areas, such as the urinary tract, colon, and mouth. It also helps with digestion in another way, because it kills any bacteria that is in the food it may be added to.
- Antioxidant
An excellent property of the black pepper oil is that it is a highly effective antioxidant. This oil helps not just improve your digestion, and helps in clearing the urinary tract, but it is also effective in removing toxins which can cause damages to the body and organs. These damages include the loss of eyesight and Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), loss of joint movements, memory loss, muscle degeneration and nervous system disorders.
One of the major black pepper essential oil uses is its detoxing properties. It helps the body get purified and detox, by improving the metabolism, and allowing the urinary tracts to clear, and pores to open up, helping get rid of harmful toxins.
- Cholesterol
Black pepper has an unusual property of being hypolipidemic. This means it is known to have a lipid lowering effect on test subjects, who have a high-fat diet. According to research, HDL cholesterol levels are boosted and LDL or VLDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) levels fall when black pepper oil is added to their diet. This, therefore, helps maintain healthy levels of cholesterol in individuals who have high-fat diets.
- Anti-Depressant and anti-Anxiety
Potassium is one of the key ingredients to help battle mental illnesses such as stress, depression, and anxiety. It helps release endorphins into the brain, due to which a person may feel happier, and less anxious. Low levels of endorphins are particularly associated with these diseases, and black pepper oil can help improve the situation by boosting this hormone. Drug addicts or those aspiring to quit smoking can make use of this essential oil to help them battle withdrawal symptoms. Similarly, it acts as a muscle relaxant as well.
- Other uses and benefits
This essential oil is rich in several minerals and vitamins, including Vitamin A, K, calcium, potassium, and selenium. These help improve the health of eyesight, bones (in terms of bone formation, bone repair, and bone density), metabolism, and muscle movements. Similarly, selenium is a booster for hair growth, nail health, and teeth health. Overall, these minerals add to improving bodily functions, and as a whole, help in improving brain functions.
How to Use Black Pepper Essential Oil
A very common question that arises when people consider purchasing it is how to use black pepper essential oil. The answer can vary with different purposes for which it may be used. However, to be sure that you get the best value for money, make sure you buy it from a reliable place, offering the highest quality.
One very important consideration to make is that the black pepper oil is known for creating a warming sensation, and is used in very small quantities. The best way to use it is to mix it with a lighter oil, as a carrier. Common practice is to mix this essential oil with coconut oil, jojoba oil or almond oil.
- For improvement in circulation, or for muscle relaxation, it is ideal that you add few drops of the essential oil on the abdomen, or the area concerned, and lightly rub the oil into the skin for relief.
- For stomach disorders, and improvements in digestion, black pepper essential oil should be consumed mixed with a smoothie, or any type of a savoury dish. The quantity should not exceed 1-2 drop of the oil. Similarly, this can also be relieved through rubbing some drops on the abdomen.
- For help with respiratory problems, inhaling the oil or consuming it internally can help remove these problems. However, if you face a congestion of airways, applying and rubbing 2 drops of the essential oil on the chest can help in removing this congestion.
- Relief of cravings, particularly for cigarettes, is fairly simple through this black pepper oil, such that, whenever a craving occurs, inhaling the oil can help reduce it. Another way is to diffuse black pepper oil and then inhaling it.
- For detoxing the body, and for boosting the metabolism of the body, the recommended intake of the essential oil is 1 or 2 drops to be swallowed, and applying 2 to 3 drops of the oil at the bottoms of both feet, and rubbing them.
- Black pepper oil is also used widely in seasoning, which is the primary purpose of black pepper all around the world. To flavour your food, such as soups, gravies, stews, vegetables, and salads, add a couple of drops of the oil to the dish.
A Word Of Caution
It needs to be reiterated that black pepper oil is a very strong essential oil, with a heavy chemical composition. For this reason, the essential oil needs to be administered very carefully, particularly with children. Steam distilled essential oil, which is the most common form of packaged essential oils available in the market, is highly concentrated, and therefore should be diluted with a basic oil, such as coconut oil.
Due to its high concentration, and its recommended topical use, black pepper oil should first be tested on a small area before using it regularly. The reason for this is that it can be an irritant if used in doses higher than the recommended dosage, and therefore, should be tested before use on a large scale. The safest spots for testing include the wrist and the feet.
The Final Word
Black pepper essential oil has a warm and spicy aroma, which has been researched and tested for stimulating body activity, improving and heightening the senses, and improving cognitive functions. One differentiating element for this essential oil is that it helps with the withdrawal symptoms of smoking, and subsides cravings for cigarettes in addicts. However, it should be administered in very small doses, not exceeding 5 drops, and diluted with a carrier.
Sources and References
- Wikipedia Black pepper
- NCBI Black pepper and health claims
