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Piperis Fructus
Pepper
胡椒 〔胡椒〕 hú jiāo
Alternate Chinese names: 玉椒 yù jiāo; 浮椒 fú jiāo; 古月 gǔ yuè
Kingdom: Plant
Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Piper nigrum L. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)
Origin in unofficial sources: Piper nigrum L.*
Use: Medicinal and alimentary
Category: Interior-warming agents
Properties: Acrid; hot.
Channel entry: Stomach and large intestine channels.
Actions and indications:
- Warms the center and relieves pain: Stomach cold, with cold pain in the stomach duct and abdomen, and
vomiting and diarrhea . - Downbears qì and disperses phlegm: Epilepsy patterns.
- Additional uses: Hú jiāo may be used as a seasoning to open the stomach (increase the appetite) and increase food intake.
- Hú jiāo is used more commonly in cooking than in medicine; modern literature says that it is good for patients suffering from stomach ulcers manifesting in vacuity cold patterns.
Dosage and method: Oral: 2–4 g in decoctions; as a powder, 0.5–1g per dose.
Notes: There are two kinds of pepper: Black pepper, which is the dried immature fruit, and white pepper, which is the dried mature (reddened) fruit with the exocarpium removed. For medicinal purposes, black pepper is considered superior to white pepper. Pepper was introduced into China in the Táng Dynasty, and soon widely replaced the Sìchuān pepper (huā jiāo) as a condiment, although Sìchuān pepper remains more popular in Sìchuān, where it is prized for its numbing flavor.
Product description: Black pepper (hēi hú jiāo 黑胡椒) is the dried unripe fruit. It is spherical, 3.5–6 mm in diameter, black in color, with wrinkles forming a reticular pattern. At the head is the slightly protuberant scar of the stigma. At the base is the scar of the fruit axis. Inside the fruit is one white seed. When broken open, it gives off a strong smell and is hot and acrid to the taste. White pepper (bái hú jiāo 白胡椒) is the processed ripened fruit. It is slightly larger than black pepper and has a smooth light brown surface. It is slightly flat at the top, and slightly pointed at the base, with 10–16 pale lines running between the two.
Quality: Large hard fruits with a strong flavor are best. Black pepper should be dark in color.
Production area: Yúnnán, Guǎngdōng, Hǎinán, Malaysia, Indonesia, southern India, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Etymology: The name hú jiāo 胡椒, foreign pepper,
distinguishes the product from the indigenous Chinese pepper, huā jiaol 花椒, zanthoxylum, Sìchuān peppercorn.