Characterisation of chemical constituents of Indian long pepper (Piper longum L.)

Studies were carried out on the chemical composition of long pepper and the results showed that long pepper contained about 1% volatile oil, 1.25% piperine and 40% starch. As compared to black pepper, long pepper was poor in essential oil and piperine and the volatile oil was dextrorotatory, while that of black pepper was levorotatory. The GC-MS analysis of the essential oil showed the presence of 48 components, out of which 44 were identified for the first time. The three major components of the oil identified were beta-caryophyllene (17%), pentadecane (17.8%) and beta-bisabolene (11.16%).