Piperine: A review of its biological effects

Abstract

Medicinal plants have been used for years as a source of food, spices, and, in tradi tional medicine, as a remedy to numerous diseases. Piper nigrum, belonging to the family Piperaceae is one of the most widely used spices all over the world. It has a dis tinct sharp flavor attributed to the presence of the phytochemical, piperine. Apart from its use as a spice, P. nigrum is frequently used for medicinal, preservation, and perfumery purposes. Black pepper contains 2–7.4% of piperine, varying in content is associated with the pepper plant. Piperine displays numerous pharmacological effects such as antiproliferative, antitumor, antiangiogenesis, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti obesity, cardioprotective, antimicrobial, antiaging, and immunomodulatory effects in various in vitro and in vivo experimental trials. Furthermore, piperine has also been documented for its hepatoprotective, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, and neuro protective properties. This review highlights and discusses the medicinal and health promoting effects of piperine, along with possible mechanisms of its action in health promotion and disease prevention. In addition, the present review summarizes the recent literature related to piperine as a therapeutic agent against several diseases