SYNONYMS: Oleoresin of black pepper, Ethereal extract (or Oil) of black pepper.
Preparation.—"Pepper, in No. 60 powder, five hundred grammes (500 Gm.) [1 lb. av., 1 oz., 279 grs.]; ether, a sufficient quantity. Put the pepper into a cylindrical glass percolator, provided with a stop-cock, and arranged with a cover and receptacle for volatile liquids. Press the drug firmly, and percolate slowly with ether, added in successive portions, until the drug is exhausted. Recover the greater part of the ether from the percolate by distillation on a water-bath, and, having transferred the residue to a capsule, set this aside until the remaining ether has evaporated, and the deposition of crystals of piperin has ceased. Lastly, separate the oleoresin from the piperin by expression through a muslin strainer. Keep the oleoresin in a well-stoppered bottle"—(U. S. P.).
Description.—Oleoresin of pepper forms a dark, greenish, rather thick liquid, containing volatile and fixed oil, and the pepper-resin, and possessing all the active properties of the pepper. About one-sixteenth part of the oleoresin is thus obtained, mixed with piperin, which is removed by the expression. This is not so dark in color, and contains more of the volatile oil than oil of black pepper, once employed and for which this oleoresin is a substitute. Oil of black pepper is a dark, almost black-green body, and is obtained as a by-product in the preparation of piperin.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—Oleoresin of black pepper may be used in cases where the fruit itself is indicated, in doses of from 1 to 3 or 4 drops, rubbed up with mucilage, glycerin, syrup, or with pill mass.