Black Pepper

Excerpt

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) contains piperine, which is the main pungent component. Piperine is often incorporated into turmeric products because it enhances the oral bioavailability of curcumin. Piperine can be found in breastmilk after maternal ingestion, but the piperine levels appear to be far below the taste threshold after ingestion of typical dietary amounts of pepper.[1] No studies have been performed with ingestion of piperine-containing pharmaceutical products. Black pepper and the related long pepper (Piper longum) are reportedly used to increase milk supply in India;[2] however, no scientifically valid clinical trials support this use.