CHENNAI:What makes Indian food taste so good? All the lovely spices we use, right? Spices are an indispensable part of ethnic cuisine, and also constitute an important group of commercial crops.
India produces a vast variety of spices and is known as the home of spices. Our ancient medicines enumerate the medicinal uses of a number of spices as well. One such spice is Piper Longum, popularly known as Long Pepper. Piper Longum is an evergreen undershrub with dark-green foliage, and belongs to the pepper family Piperaceae. The name ‘pepper’ comes from the Sanskrit word ‘pippali’, which means berry. Piper is the Latin word for pepper. Interestingly, no other name is given to this plant in any of our Indian languages. The names cited in other languages are mere phonetic differences of pippali. In Hindi, Telugu and Tulu, it is called pipli; pimpli in Marathi; in Kannada it is known as hippali; and thippali in Malayalam and Tamil.
It is known for its curious looking spikes. Long pepper is known to help in stimulating the appetite. Its delicate berries are used for throat pain, paralysis of tongue and also against hoarseness of voice. Pippali is a perennial creeper or a light twiner. The branchlets are smooth and shiny, with swollen nodes. Aerial roots produced at nodes help in clasping onto hosts. The leaves are arranged in an alternate fashion, they are heart-shaped, smooth and shiny. It flowers from October to November, and fruiting can be seen throughout the year with the peak time being from December to January.
Segregation of sexes is apparent in this species, with separate male and female plants. The male’s spikes are greenish-yellow, fleshy, cylindrical and with minute flowers. Female flowering spikes are erect and yellow, the fruiting spikes are cylindrical and oblong. The fruits are in the form of tiny berries that are globose and red or black in colour.
Pippali is native to north east India. Globally, this species can be found in the Indo-Malaysian region and Sri Lanka. Though it is cultivated in most parts of India, the wild variety can be found in the lower hills of central and eastern Himalayas, as well as in the Western Ghats of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Even the Andaman and Nicobar islands have seen Pippali growth. Moist, shady places with mixed forests are best for this plant.
Piper Longum is a stimulant, a digestive, and is recommended for diarrhoea and viral hepatitis. A decoction of unripe berries and roots are advised for chronic bronchitis, cough and cold. The roots are reported to be used as an antidote for scorpion stings. It also relieves muscular pains and inflammation.