Black pepper
Benefits and harm, reproduction and care, black pepper recipes
Botanical characteristics of black pepper
Black pepper is a perennial plant with a flexible and slender stem. The leaves of the plant are alternate, leathery, ovoid and heart-shaped. The flowers are small, inconspicuous, white or gray-yellow in color. The flowers of the plant are collected in small inflorescences. The fruit of the pepper is a spherical drupe with seeds. At first, the drupe is green in color, and as it matures, it turns red. If the pepper is dried, it will turn black.
Pepper bloom begins in April and lasts until the end of May. The fruits ripen from July to August. India is considered the homeland of pepper, but it is successfully cultivated in many countries of the world, such as Brazil, Sri Lanka, Russia, and the island of Java.
Reproduction of black pepper
Black pepper propagates in different ways: - by seeds; - cuttings; - layering; - plots.
Seeds must be sown in the spring in soil consisting of sand and leafy soil. When the seedlings appear, they need to be planted one by one in small pots with sod, leafy soil containing humus and sand. Plants should be watered abundantly and kept out of a sunny place. Irrigation water should not be cold.
Only March is suitable for cuttings. To do this, you need to plant the cuttings in the sand. The cuttings should be watered regularly. When the cuttings are rooted, they are planted in separate pots.
Reproduction by layering involves bending the side shoots to the ground, securing them with wooden studs. When the layers take root, they need to be cut off and planted in pots with turf soil mixed with sand.
Black pepper care
Pepper grows well on east and west facing windows. Peppers should be watered abundantly throughout spring and summer. Waterlogging and overdrying of the soil should not be allowed, since both will only harm the plant.
Pepper needs high humidity. If it is low, it will lead to the fact that the plant will begin to hurt. Twice a day, the plant must be sprayed with soft and already settled water. The pot with the plant must be placed on a pallet in which there is wet expanded clay or peat.
Spring and summer are the time to feed the plant. Mineral fertilizers are perfect for this purpose. Top dressing must be done no more than 1 time in 14 days. In winter, the pepper should be kept in a bright place, since the plant is dormant.
Pepper tolerates a transplant normally. Young plants are transplanted once a year, and old ones - no more than once every 2 years. For transplanting, you need to mix sod, leafy soil with peat, sand and humus in equal proportions. It is better that the transplant pots are made of plastic, with a content at the bottom of the drain.
Useful properties of black pepper
Pepper contains vitamins E, C, glycosides, essential oils and starch - all these substances have a positive effect on the human body. Due to the presence of these components, black pepper is used as a remedy that strengthens the nervous system, muscle mass and improves the digestion process. In addition, pepper is able to thin the blood.
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Pepper stimulates the appetite and increases saliva flow. Black pepper cleanses the body and lymph and has an antidote effect.
The plant is used as a memory enhancer, dissipates gases, strengthens the liver and stomach. Black pepper has diuretic properties.
Applying black pepper
Black pepper is used as a bactericidal, expectorant, and pain reliever. The plant has a healing property in the treatment of cough, respiratory diseases. In folk medicine, black pepper is often used to treat hemorrhoids, stomach diseases, and fever. A decoction of black pepper is used for snake or scorpion bites. Black pepper can help relieve chest pain.
Pepper tincture for back pain. To prepare it, take 5 ripe pepper pods and dry them. Then grind them and fill them with a glass of vodka. Leave in a dark place to brew for 5 days. Remember to shake the tincture every day. When the tincture is ready, 1 teaspoon of iodine tincture is added to it and left to infuse for another 7 days, after which 1 teaspoon of rock salt is added there and left to infuse for another day. It takes 3 days to be treated with such a remedy, keeping the finished tincture in a cool place.
Pepper for a cold. Take black pepper and grind it into powder. Now put 100 grams of butter on the fire for 15 minutes. Then we take water and drip a drop into the oil, if it starts to crackle, then it’s time to remove it from the heat and it’s ready. After filtering the finished oil and adding pepper powder to it, the agent is instilled into the nose in a warm state.
Pepper for angina, bronchitis. Take 1 teaspoon of chopped black pepper and mix it with a glass of honey. Take this potion 1 teaspoon three times a day. The same medicine will help with a delay in menstruation.
Black pepper for kidney stones. Take black grapes and remove the seeds from them, in place of which place one black peppercorn. Take one of these raisins every day for 7 days. Thanks to this medicine, kidney stones will begin to crumble and be excreted in the urine from the body.
Pepper for radiculitis. It is not only easy to prepare this medicine, but also quick. Take 1 tablespoon of chopped pepper and combine it with 200 ml of olive oil. We put everything on fire for 10 minutes. After straining, the medicine can be used. This oil is used for rubbing sore spots. The same medicine is used for aches, paralysis and osteochondrosis.
Pepper for hair. Take equal amounts of ground black pepper and salt and mix. Add onion juice here for a gruel. Rub the hair with the prepared gruel, leave for half an hour. After this time, the gruel is washed off the head. As a result of using such pepper gruel, the hair will stop breaking and fall out less.
Pepper harm
Pepper is harmful to people who have urinary tract diseases. Many people have headaches after eating black pepper. Black pepper dries out the breasts and makes the tissues of the throat and lungs rougher. Excessive consumption of black pepper can cause irritation and agitation. Black pepper preparations should not be used for people suffering from stomach ulcers, allergies and anemia.
The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist
Education: Diploma of the Russian State Medical University named after NI Pirogov with a degree in General Medicine (2004). Residency at Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, diploma in Endocrinology (2006).
