Abstract

A CRITICAL REVIEW ON MARICHA: Piper nigrum Linn.

*Dr. Monika Sharma, Dr. B.K. Kaushik, Dr. Rosy Gupta, Dr. Pankaj Sharma, Dr. Minakshi Kaundal

Abstract

Medicinal plants are used in traditional systems of medicine and dayto- day common life, such as in meal preparation and cosmetic purposes. Maricha (Black pepper) is one of the widely used spices, also known as King of spices having a typical pungent odour. Black pepper is found largely and is cultivated in Western Ghats of Kerala (Southern India) and Sarawak state in Malaysia. In Ayurvedic classics, it is used in various conditions like agnimandya, ajirna, grahani roga, visuchika, shwasa, kasa, krimi roga etc. It is one of the three ingredients of Trikatu. Among the various species of the Piperaceae family, black pepper is one of the most popular due to its principle pharmacological component, Piperine; which is an alkaloid that has vast pharmacological activities like antioxidant, anti-obesity, antitumor, antipyretic, antifungal, antibacterial, hepatoprotective, antiinflammatory, anti-diabetic, etc. Maricha is used as single drug as well as an essential content in various Ayurvedic formulations. Maricha is a good bioavailability enhancer. The aim of this review article is to re-orientate the information about Maricha. This article focuses on synonyms, pharmacodynamics, therapeutics and pharmacological activities of Maricha as described in Ayurvedic classics.

Keywords: Maricha, Piperine, Agni, Trikatu, Bioavailabilty.