Black pepper is not just a seasoning; consuming this spice daily is good for your digestion. Moreover, it promotes the absorption of nutrients and supplements, thanks to the active ingredient in black pepper: piperine.
Black pepper
Black pepper is a culinary spice with a pungent flavour. If you want to spice up your dish a little, quickly grab the pepper mill and grind black pepper over your plate. However, black pepper has already been extensively used as medicine by our ancestors, especially in India. Peppercorns grow as berries on the tropical pepper plant Piper nigrum. The ingredient piperine is what gives black peppercorns their sharp taste.
Piperine
Piperine is also the most active ingredient in black pepper. It has a positive effect on digestion and promotes the absorption of nutrients and supplements. How does that work? Absorption of nutrients takes place in the wall of the small intestine. To be precise: the cell membrane of the cells in the intestinal wall is responsible for nutrient absorption and the amount absorbed. Piperine can alter the structure of the cell membrane so that more of the substance is absorbed.
BioPerine®
Piperine is also available in the form of a nutritional supplement. BioPerine® contains 95% piperine. BioPerine® is the only product derived from piperine to have been granted patented status for its ability to increase the bioavailability of nutrients. BioPerine® is the only source of piperine that has undergone clinical trials in the United States to substantiate its nutritional safety and efficacy.
BioPerine® is a standardised extract obtained from the black peppefruit that is grown in the damp, nutrient-rich soil regions of South India. The delicate pepper berries are harvested, before ripening and drying in the sun to ensure optimum maturity and quality. BioPerine® significantly improves the bioavailability of different dietary supplement through increased absorption. For example, several studies show that BioPerine® promotes the uptake of various nutrients, including curcumin, beta-carotene and Q10.