354  Pepper  and  its  Adulterants.  {^/uiy^im 
PEPPER  AND  ITS  ADULTERANTS.^ 
By  E.  Davies,  F.  C.  S.,  F.  I.  C. 
Mr.  Daviessaid  the  plant  which  yielded  the  pepper  of  commerce  was 
one  of  the  Piperacese,  Piper  nigrum  being  a  climbing  plant  bearing 
its  flowers  in  spikes.  The  flowers  were  unconspicuous,  and  were  suc- 
ceeded by  green  drupes  which  became  red  when  ripe.  They  were 
gathered  before  ripening  and  dried,  the  fleshy  portion  becoming 
wrinkled  and  black.  When  white  pepper  was  to  be  made  the  berries 
were  soaked  in  water,  sometimes,  it  was  said,  in  cow^s  urine,  and  the 
outer  layer  rubbed  ofl".  Black  pepper  was  manufactured  by  grinding 
the  whole  of  the  dried  grain ;  white  pepper,  on  the  other  hand,  by 
grinding  the  decorticated  berry.  To  meet  the  demand  for  an  exceed- 
ingly light  colored  pepper/ the  outer  layers  of  the  seed  were  some- 
times ground  ofl",  and  only  the  nearly  white  kernel  was  used.  As  the 
starch  of  which  the  berry  was  largely  composed  was  largest  in  pro- 
portion in  the  centre,  the  pepper  so  made  was  deficient  in  pungency 
and  flavor,  and  it  was  a  nice  question  whether  such  treatment  was  al- 
lowable under  the  Food  and  Drugs  Act.  Nothing  was  indeed  added, 
but  the  removal  of  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  berry  was  akin  to 
skimming  milk.  One  of  the  constituents  of  pepper  was  an  essential 
oil,  which  could  be  obtained  by  distilling  crushed  pepper  with  water. 
Of  this  black  pepper  yielded  1*17  per  cent.,  and  white  pepper  1*04 
per  cent.,  and  it  had  the  smell  of  pepper  but  not  a  strong  taste.  Its 
composition  was  akin  to  turpentine.  The  perfume  of  pepper  being 
largely  due  to  it,  to  obtain  the  best  result  the  pepper  should  be  fresh 
ground,  or  kept  tightly  closed.  The  custom  of  keeping  pepper  in  cas- 
tors with  perforated  tops  was  unscientific.  Little  mills  by  which  the 
pepper  could  be  ground  when  required  was  the  best  method  of  obtain- 
ing it  pure  and  pungent.  Other  constituents  were  a  resin  soluble  in 
caustic  potash,  and  piperine,  an  alkaloid,  the  amount  of  which  was 
very  variable.  In  black  pepper,  from  a  recent  analysis,  the  percent- 
age was  7.14  to  6.62,  and  in  white  pepper,  6-47.  It  was  soluble  in 
alcohol,  and  was  said  to  be  febrifugal,  it  being  curious  that  its  compo- 
sition was  identical  with  that  of  morphine.  Other  ingredients  were 
starch,  which  in  black  pepper  amounted  to  from  49  to  56  per  cent, 
and  in  white  pepper  from  77  to  85  per  cent.,  and  cellulose,  which  in 
white  pepper  ranged  from  12  to  14  per  cent,  and  in  black  pepper 
1  Abstract  of  a  paper  read  before  the  Liverpool  Chemists'  Association  ;  re- 
printed from  Pharm.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  May  2(5. 
