Description

Black Pepper Aromatherapy

Crowned as ‘The King of Spices’ and wholly packed with large amount of solar energy. Its Sanskrit name Marich rightly means Sun.

Black pepper (botanical name Piper nigrum) is a blossoming vine belonging to the Piperaceae family. Black pepper clings to tall trees for shade as well as support. This plant is grown for its fruit that is generally dried and used for culinary as well as medicinal purposes. This species is indigenous to India and presently widely grown in other tropical regions of the world. Generally, the reddish spines of undeveloped berries are collected and put out to dry in the sun. When dried, the color of the berries changes from red to black. While the major part of black pepper is used as spice, only a small portion is used to prepare essential oil. Singapore is the commercial hub for making black pepper essential oil. The oil is distilled on the spot in places, such as Comorro and Nossi Be islands of the nation. These places usually produce superior quality of black pepper essential oil. This oil has a greenish-yellow hue and a pungent smell.

You probably use black pepper on a regular basis in the kitchen. Did you know that the essential oil from pepper could also bring aromatherapy benefits to your health? This essential oil has many positive properties. It can be used as an analgesic, antiseptic, or laxative aid. It also helps relieving pain due to rheumatism, muscular aches, chills and colds and flu symptoms. The warming effect of the oil, once diluted with a carrier oil, with soothe your aching muscles. Black pepper also increases circulation and helps with sinus congestion and fever. Try to add a few drops of this oil to your aromatherapy neck wraps or add it to your favorite aromatherapy bath recipe.

If you’re looking for mental stimulation, this essential oil can also help by aiding concentration and strengthening the nerves. On the spiritual side, it is believed that this essential oil can be helpful if you’re feeling a little cold, indifferent or apathic. It instills the will to change, to think and to act positively.

Long back, black pepper was regarded as something blessed and was also used as coinage. In fact, black pepper was such a prized commodity that it was used to exchange with gold – in those days, value of gold was much less compared to black pepper. It was a valuable commodity that was exported from India to other countries of the world. Chemical analysis of black pepper essential oil has revealed that it encloses chemical substances, such as alpha termineol, beta bisabolene, beta caryophyllene, camphene, linalol, limonene, myrcene, pinene, phellandrene, pinocarveol, sabinene and alpha terpenene. In addition to these substances, black pepper essential oil also has high concentration of essential minerals as well as vitamins. While it contains minerals like iron, calcium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium and potassium, the vitamins enclosed by this essential oil include vitamin K and vitamin A.

The essential oil obtained from black pepper possesses the aptitude to stimulate the mind and emotions and facilitates enhancement of stamina and aid awareness. This essential oil is also recommended to help in augmenting concentration and treating memory loss. In addition, black pepper is also known to act as an aphrodisiac.

Black pepper essential oil is said to be an excellent remedy for treating as well as preventing cold and flu. Add a few drops of black pepper essential oil to jojoba, and use it for a chest massage or rubbing on the feet during the cold and flu season and it will not only help to heat up the body, but also encourage blood circulation and boost up the immune system. This essential oil possesses analgesic (pain killing) as well as rubifacient (warming) properties, which makes it an important ingredient in massage oils used by sportspersons for treating throbbing muscles, aches and stiffness.

 

General properties

stimulant

stomachic

vulnerary

warming

Blends well with

frankincense

juniper

lemon

sandalwood

General uses

backache

catarrh

chest infections

colds and flu

dermatitis

hay fever

headaches

helps digestion

neuralgia

rheumatic conditions

sciatica

 

Precaution

Caution needs to be exercised while using the essential oil obtained from black pepper. Always water down or dilute this essential oil before use to avoid skin irritation. In addition, black pepper essential oil is very potent primarily enclosing sesquiterpenes (any of specific type of terpene whose molecules enclose one and a half times as many atoms as a normal terpene) and, hence, it needs to be used in small doses. Apart from causing skin irritation, black pepper essential oil may also result in irritation and invigorate the kidneys when used in excessive amounts. In fact, using this essential oil in high doses may also cause damage to the skin. Like in the case of using any essential oil, additional precaution needs to be taken while using black pepper essential oil. It should never be used without consulting any professional aromatherapist or one who is familiar with the use of essential oils.