Piper Longum spice and herb, Pippali, Indian long pepper

Piper Longum has been used traditionally as a digestive aid, sexual stimulant, general tonic, and mucolytic. Piper longum may also play a role in lowering cholesterol levels. As to sexual enhancement, there are more potent herbs such as maca, eurycoma and muira puama.

Cancer prevention
In Vitro Investigation of the Potential Immunomodulatory and Anti-Cancer Activities of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) and Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)J Med Food. 2010 Mar 8.  Majdalawieh AF, Carr RI.1 Department of Biology and Chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah , Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Although the immunomodulatory effects of many herbs have been extensively studied, research related to possible immunomodulatory effects of various spices is relatively scarce. Here, the potential immunomodulatory effects of black pepper and cardamom are investigated. Our data show that black pepper and cardamom aqueous extracts significantly enhance splenocyte proliferation in a dose-dependent, synergistic fashion. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay experiments reveal that black pepper and cardamom significantly enhance and suppress, respectively, T helper (Th)1 cytokine release by splenocytes. Conversely, Th2 cytokine release by splenocytes is significantly suppressed and enhanced by black pepper and cardamom, respectively. Experimental evidence suggests that black pepper and cardamom extracts exert pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory roles, respectively. Consistently, nitric oxide production by macrophages is significantly augmented and reduced by black pepper and cardamom, respectively. Remarkably, it is evident that black pepper and cardamom extracts significantly enhance the cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells, indicating their potential anti-cancer effects. Our findings strongly suggest that black pepper and cardamom exert immunomodulatory roles and antitumor activities, and hence they manifest themselves as natural agents that can promote the maintenance of a healthy immune system. We anticipate that black pepper and cardamom constituents can be used as potential therapeutic tools to regulate inflammatory responses and prevent/attenuate carcinogenesis.

Piper longum and cholesterol
Antihyperlipidemic Compounds from the Fruit of Piper longum L.
Phytother Res. 2009 January. Jin Z, Borjihan G, Zhao R, Sun Z, Hammond GB, Uryu T. Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry and Mongolian Medicine, Inner Mongolia University, Huhhot 010021, China.
A bioassay-guided isolation of an ethanol extract of the fruit of Piper longum L. yielded piperlonguminine, piperine and pipernonaline, as the main lipid lowering constituents. They exhibit appreciable lipid lowering activity in vivo, which is comparable to that of the commercial lipid lowering drug, simvastatin.

Piper Longum research studies
Antiplatelet effects of acidamides isolated from the fruits of Piper longum L.
Phytomedicine. 2007 December. Institute of Ecological Phytochemistry, Hankyong National University, Ansung City, Kyonggi-Do 456-749, Republic of Korea.
The inhibitory effects of four acidamides, piperine, pipernonaline, piperoctadecalidine, and piperlongumine, isolated from the fruits of Piper longum L. on washed rabbit platelet aggregation were examined. All of the four tested acidamides showed dose-dependent inhibitory activities on washed rabbit platelet aggregation induced by collagen, arachidonic acid (AA), and platelet-activating factor (PAF), except for that induced by thrombin. Piperlongumine, in particular, showed stronger inhibitory effects than other acidamides to rabbit platelet aggregation induced by collagen, AA and PAF.

Piper species include
Piper longum herb
Piper methysticum herb
Piper nigrum

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