- ABSTRACT
The plant extracts and secondary metabolites possess antimicrobial, activities.
The various plant products that are regularly used for their therapeutic potential and plants or plant
product that from the part of the food or as dietary components have been receiving considerable attention, though much is known about the chemistry and the antimicrobial action of several phytochemicals, very few reports are available on the possible mechanism of action. For phenols and phenolic compounds, an injury of membrane functions has been proposed as a mechanism of action.
The antibacterial activity of black pepper plant fruit extracts, of Piper nigrum Linn. Was studied against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-negative) Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) by the disk well diffusion method. In that method the in vitro antibacterial activity of the acetone and the ethanol or methanolic extracts displayed broad spectrum activity against all the test organisms. Actively growing log phase but berry extracts of chloroform and Petroleum ether showed no activity against Gram-negative bacteria.
The antibacterial activity of the extracts was compared to the drug Tetracycline.
The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the ethanol and methanol extracts of (berry) and whole fruit determined by the agar dilution method ranged between (1.96-19.5) and (1.96) with that of Staphylococcus aureus being the least. Phytochemical screening of the plant revealed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins. The results of this study support the traditional use of Piper nigrum Linn.
INTRODUCTION
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately 5 millimetres (0.20 inch) in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed.
Peppercorns, and the ground pepper derived from them, may be described simply as pepper, or more precisely as black pepper (cooked and dried unripe fruit), green pepper (dried unripe fruit) and white pepper (unripe fruit seeds). Black pepper is native to south India, and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions. Currently; Vietnam is the world's largest producer and exporter of pepper, producing 37% of the world's Piper nigrum crop as of 2013.
Dried ground pepper has been used since antiquity for both its flavor and as a medicine. Black pepper is the world's most traded spice. It is one of the most common spices added to European cuisine and its descendants. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine, not to be confused with the capsaicin that gives fleshy peppers theirs. It is ubiquitous in the modern world as a seasoning, and is often paired with salt.
The scientific name of black pepper is Piper nigrum. Pepper is mostly cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning, from Europe to Asia, black pepper is best known for its flavor and delicacy.
A simple recipe can turn out to be tasty, delicious and spicy as a pinch of black pepper is added into it.
Either in its ground or berry shape, black pepper is found on nearly every dinner table in some parts of the world such as Thai, Spain, India, etc.
Throughout history, pepper has played many important roles such as the currency and sacred offering in Greece, prized spice in Rome and during. Middle Ages the wealth of a man was measured by his stockpiles of pepper. It is a good thing that black pepper can be harvested all year round.
Spices and herbs have been used for centuries by many cultures enhance the flavor and aroma of foods .Early cultures also recognized the value of using spices and herbs in preserving foods and for their medicinal value. Scientific experiments since the late 19th century have demonstrated the antimicrobial properties of some spices, herbs and their components.
Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the discovery ofnew natural antimicrobials, because of an increasing risk in the rate of infection with antibiotic- resistant microorganisms and also due to the side and the residual effects of antibiotics.
The part of different common herbs, such as Piper nigrum commonly known as black pepper, sometimes called as Indian long pepper, is a flowering in the family piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning, it is a close relative of the black pepper plant, and has a similar, through generally hotter taste. The root and fruit of Pipper nigrum are used in palsy, gout and lambago. The fruits have a bitter, hit, sharp taste, tonic to liver, stomatch, and emmenagogue, abortifacient, aphrodisiac and digestive.
The fruits and roots are attributed to numerous medicinal uses and may be used for diseases of respiratory tract, cough, bronchitis, asthma, etc; as counter irritant and analgesic when applied for muscular pains and inflammation, it is also prescribed in case of cholera, dyspepsia, flatulence and diarrhoea. Several alkaloidal and non- alkaloidalconstituents have been reported from time to time such as piperine and pipericine.
Piperine is the major plant alkaloid present in black pepper Piper nigrum, is reported to have bioavailability enhancing activity for some drugs. Piperine has good anticonvulsant and antimicrobial properties; it also acts as an antioxidant and anticancer agent by its numerous macromolecules associated with them. The purpose of the present study was to determine the antimicrobial activity of piperine that isolated from Piper nigrum by taking a selected standard antibiotic.