CRUDE DRUGS. 573 



Black pepper should yield not less than 6 per cent, of a non- 

 volatile ether extract nor less than 25 per cent, of starch. The 

 ash should he not more than 7 per cent., of which only two per 

 cent, is insoluble in hydrochloric acid. The crude fiber should 

 be not more than 15 per cent. 



Inner Structure. The epicarp consists of a layer of poly- 

 gonal cells with dark brown contents ; beneath this, one or more 

 interrupted rows of strongly lignified, more or less radially 

 elongated stone cells occur ; the sarcocarp contains a more or less 

 interrupted layer of oil cells with suberized walls ; the endocarp 

 consists of characteristic stone cells, which are horse-shoe shaped, 

 the inner and radial walls being thickened and commonly 

 referred to as " beaker cells." The perisperm consists chiefly of 

 radially elongated cells containing numerous starch grains which 

 are 2 to 6 ;, in diameter ; some resin cells ; cells containing needle- 

 shaped crystals of piperine, and in the outer layers small aleurone 

 grains (Figs. 121, B; 311). 



Constituents. Volatile oil i to 2 per cent., containing 

 dipentene, phellandrene and a peculiar terpene ; the alkaloid 

 piperine, 4.5 to 8 per cent., which crystallizes in colorless, taste- 

 less, 4-sided prisms which are colored bright green by means of 

 concentrated sulphuric acid and formaldehyde, and with potassium 

 hydrate or sulphuric acid give a red color ; piperidine, a colorless 

 liquid alkaloid, which is a derivative of piperine, about 0.5 per 

 cent. ; a pungent resin, chavicin ; starch, 25 to 40 per cent. ; tannin ; 

 proteins, about 10 per cent.; ash, about 5 per cent. (Fig. 340). 



Allied Products. The fruits of Piper nigrum are some- 

 times allowed to ripen and the epicarp is separated by hand or 

 machinery after the fruits have been soaked in salt water or lime 

 water. The fruits are then known as white peppercorns or 

 white pepper, are nearly smooth, of a light gray or yellow color, 

 and while less aromatic and pungent than the black pepper or 

 black peppercorns, possess a fine flavor. White pepper yields 

 3.9 to 6.47 per cent, of piperine. 



Piper longum, a shrub indigenous to the Malay Archipelago, 

 yields the so-called " long pepper," which consists of the entire 

 spikes of the immature fruit; the spikes are cylindrical, from 

 2.5 to 4 cm. long, about 5 mm. thick, of a grayish-black color, 



