Marich

BOTANICAL NAME: Piper nigrum

FAMILY: Piperaceae

CLASSICAL CLASSIFICATION:

Charak- Deepaneeya,Krimighana, Shirovirecchanopaga

Susruta– Pippalyyadi, Trayushana

Bhavaprakash: Haritkyadi varga

ENGLISH NAME: Black pepper

COMMON NAME:

Hindi name: kali mirch

REFERENCE: BHAVAPRAKASH SAMHITA with link e Nighantu:

https://niimh.nic.in/ebooks/e-Nighantu/bhavaprakashanighantu/?mod=read

मरिचं वेल्लजं कृष्णमूषणं धर्मपत्तनम् |
मरिचं कटुकं तीक्ष्णं दीपनं कफवातजित् |
उष्णं पित्तकरं रूक्षं श्वासशूलकृमीन्हरेत् ||५५||
तदार्द्रं मधुरं पाके नात्युष्णं कटुकं गुरु |
किञ्चित्तीक्ष्णगुणं श्लेष्मप्रसेकि स्यादपित्तलम् ||५६||

HABITAT:

Marica consists of fully mature dried fruit of Piper nigrum; a climber, cultivated from Konkan Southwards, especially in North Konkan Kerala, and also in Assam; fruits ripen from December to March, depending upon climatic conditions; fruits harvested from December to April.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION:

Fruits greyish-black to black, hard, wrinkled, 0.4-0.5 cm in dia.; odour, aromatic;

taste, pungent. Fruit consists of a thick pericarp for about one third of fruit and an inner mass of

perisperm, enclosing a small embryo.

MAJOR CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS: Alkaloids (Piperine, Chavicine, Piperidine, Piperetine) and Essential Oil

THERAPEUTIC USES

• Toothache Pepper decoctionis used in gargle in tooth pain
• Headache-1/2 gm peeper powder along with onion and salt and applied in headache.

INDICATIONS:

Svasa Asthma, krimirog intestina worms, Twakrog skin disorder, Jwara pyrexia, Aruchi Anorexia.

USEFUL PART: Fruit

DOSAGE:250 mg – 1 g. of the drug in powder form.

AYURVEDIC FORMULATION:

1. Marichadigutika
2. Marichaditaila
3. Marichadichurna
4. Chandraprabhavati.