Family: Piperaceae
A slender aromatic, perennial climber, native of the indo-Malayan
region, is found growing wild in the tropical rainforest
of India, Nepal, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Timor and Philippines.
India long pepper is mostly derived from wild plants but
is also grown in small area in the Khasi hills, the lower
hills of West Bengal, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharastra, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Chemical Constituents:
Long pepper of commerce is obtained from the unripe spikes
of the plant which contain the alkaloids piperence (4-5%)
and piplatin and two new al one of which is designated
as alkaloids-piperolactum B and piporadione are extracted.
The roots contain the alkaloids piperlonguminine (0.2-0.25%)
and piperlonguimine (0.02%) besides piperine. Uses
The plant has versatile medical value. The root is pungent
and has heating, stomachic, laxative, antidiarrhoeic,
is useful in vata and kapha; asthma, bronchitis, abdominal
complaints, fever, leucoderma, urinary discharges, tumors,
piles, diseases of spleen, pains, inflammations, leprosy,
insomnia, jaundice, hiccups, tubercular glands and reduce
biliousness. The roots and fruits are used in palsy,
gout and lumbago. The root has a bitter, hot and sharp
taste. It is used as calmatives, a tonic hematenic, and
diuretic, digestive and as a general tonic, useful in
reducing liver inflammation, joints pain, lumbago, snakebite,
scorpion sting and night blindness. Propagation
The plant requires a hot, moist climate and an elevation
between 100-1000 msl. It flourishes well in rich well-drained,
loamy as well as in lateritic and calcareous soils. It
should be grown under partial shade. Long pepper is propagated
through seeds, suckers or cutting or by layering of mature
branches at beginning of the monsoon. The establishment
percentage of 3-5 nodded root cutting is also reported
to be very high. The suckers establish very well in heavy
rainfall areas. Vine cutting can be rooted in polythene
bags filled with common pot mixture. The nursery can
be raised during March-April which gets ready for planting
in the main field by the end of May. It is planted as
an intercrop with subabul, eucalyptus and coconut in
different parts of the country. The rooted cutting or
suckers are planted in the pits at the rate of 2 per
with the onset of monsoon. The crop needs heavy Manuring.
It should be irrigated once a week. If it is grown as
pure crop, in case it is grown as intercrop, the irrigation
provided to the main crop is different. Harvesting
The spikes are picked from the vines six months after planting.
The spikes should be picked when they are blackish green
and most pungent, delaying may result in the loss of
pungency. The harvested spikes are dried in the sun 4-5
days until they are perfectly dry. Beside the spikes
the thick parts of the stem and roots (Piplamool), which
have medicals value may also be harvested from 18 months
after planting. While harvesting the stem are cut close
to the ground, the roots dug up, cleaned and heaped in
shade for a day after which they are cut into 2.5-5 cm
long pieces. Yield
The green to dry spike yield is around 4 Quintals/ha. the
yield increases thereafter upto three years and knchs
around 1 MT/ha during the third year. After three years
the productivity decreases and they should be replanted.
The average yield of roots is 5 Quintals/ha. Source: Excerpts from a article “Method of sustainable
harvesting and value addition for economic uplift and biodiversity
conservation” by Ms. Alka Shiva, MFP News, COMFORTS,
July- September 2004
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