Black Pepper Essential Oil - Piper nigrum

Black Pepper, Piper nigrum, has been used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine to treat malaria and cholera, as well as to relieve digestive complaints such as dysentery and diarrhea. Indian monks include black pepper in their diet every day to help them sustain their endurance and increase their energy. You will find a mini profile on Black Pepper on the Articles page of the website.

On a subtle level, Black Pepper can be used for protection and to promote courage. It is also helpful for alertness. It can enhance the desire to get going on a new project or getting on with a new direction in life. It can be help to bring daydreams into reality and assist in removing blockages in the energy field. It can also help to free the mind from envious thoughts. Black Pepper can be used to help one focus on what you want to manifest. It is also helpful in overcoming feelings of constraint and reducing overwhelming anxieties. It can help one to deal with anger and give one the courage to do so. Black Pepper helps one to listen to our inner intuition and to take chances.

Use in low concentrations on the skin as this oil can cause skin irritation.

Black Pepper has also been featured in a research study and found to be effective in helping one to quit smoking. See my very first blog entry in May 2006.

Inhalation of vapor from black pepper extract reduces smoking withdrawal symptoms. Rose JE, Behm FM., Nicotine Research Laboratory (151-S), V.A. Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705.

Previous studies have suggested that sensory cues associated with cigarette smoking can suppress certain smoking withdrawal symptoms, including craving for cigarettes. In this study we investigated the subjective effects of a cigarette substitute delivering a vapor of black pepper essential oil. Forty-eight cigarette smokers participated in a 3-h session conducted after overnight deprivation from smoking. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: one group of smokers puffed on a device that delivered a vapor from essential oil of black pepper; a second group puffed on the device with a mint/menthol cartridge, and a third group used a device containing an empty cartridge. Subjects puffed and inhaled ad libitum from the device throughout the session during which no smoking was allowed. Reported craving for cigarettes was significantly reduced in the pepper condition relative to each of the two control conditions. In addition, negative affect and somatic symptoms of anxiety were alleviated in the pepper condition relative to the unflavored placebo. The intensity of sensations in the chest was also significantly higher for the pepper condition. These results support the view that respiratory tract sensations are important in alleviating smoking withdrawal symptoms. Cigarette substitutes delivering pepper constituents may prove useful in smoking cessation treatment.

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