Can black pepper essential oil help manage pain?

Black pepper oil has a warming effect that can help soothe aching muscles and other related injuries to joints or tendons.

Not only that, but black pepper also has anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic properties - both of which allow it to calm aches and pains and relax tense muscles throughout the body.

A study in 2014 found that black pepper oil was particularly useful for those with neck pain, leading to an improvement in symptoms when applied topically.

It’s important to note that before black pepper oil is applied to the skin it should always be diluted with a carrier oil.

Does black pepper improve IBS symptoms and aid digestion?

Depending on the dosage, it’s been found that black pepper oil can, oddly enough, have either spasmodic or antispasmodic effects.

Antispasmodic oils can help to calm tense muscles and spasms in the body, helping to reduce painful cramps, while spasmodic oils can stimulate the muscles into action.

This means that not only can black pepper help to relieve gut pain by relaxing tense muscles, but in a different dosage, it can help with the uncomfortable feelings of constipation. Black pepper oil can also have antidiarrheal effects.

All the digestion-soothing abilities of black pepper can be attributed to the presence of the compound piperine.

A study in 2013 found that rats with IBS and severe symptoms of low mood showed a significant improvement in both conditions after being given piperine.

There is evidence that serotonin plays a role in the abnormal brain-gut signalling that may cause IBS, explaining why the two conditions are often linked. The fact that piperine can apparently help treat both is a very exciting discovery.

Can black pepper be used to lower cholesterol and blood pressure?

Another rat study, this time in 2010, found that rats fed a high-fat diet showed a decrease in levels of cholesterol and fatty acids after being fed black pepper.

It’s also been shown by a 2008 study that the piperine in black pepper may be able to lower blood pressure. These two conditions often go hand in hand – again, black pepper oil proves itself as a fantastically simple home remedy for both.

Is black pepper essential oil good for easing cigarette cravings?

A slightly more unusual benefit, black pepper oil is said to help ease anxiety and cravings in smokers attempting to quit or going through withdrawal.

A clinical study published in a journal about substance dependence found that inhaling black pepper oil can suppress the craving for cigarettes as well as other withdrawal symptoms including headaches and irritability.

Subjects in the experimental group found that their cravings were significantly lessened compared to the control group, and negative effects and symptoms of anxiety were also lessened in the black pepper group, once again showing that black pepper is effective at tackling all sides of a condition.

Can black pepper oil help detoxify the body?

Black pepper is said to have “bio transformative” effects that lend themselves to effective detoxification of the body.

This means that inhaling or topically applying black pepper may assist in removing harmful toxins from the body as well as fighting off free radicals that could lead to more severe health complications.

What is the history of Black Pepper Essential Oil?

The black pepper spice was so valuable in the ancient world that it was used as currency amongst the Ancient Romans, and as a sign of power and wealth amongst the Greeks.

However, many people, including Hippocrates, were concerned that the expensiveness of the spice overshadowed its medicinal value. Their worries weren’t misplaced – even today, many people simply don’t know about the myriad of benefits that black pepper oil can have.

Black pepper was particularly useful during the Middle Ages in Europe for preserving meats as well as overcoming odours and was a major factor in the spice trade for centuries.

Hippocrates probably would have been pleased to know the advances that are being made in the medical application of black pepper oil.

For example, it was recently suggested that black pepper’s pigment production-boosting effects could help to treat the skin condition vitiligo.

This research is far from complete, but the future of black pepper oil in both aromatherapy and medicine definitely looks exciting.