Piper, the pepper plants or pepper vines, is an economically and ecologically important genus in the family Piperaceae.
In organic chemistry, a peptide bond is an amide type of covalent chemical bond linking two consecutive alpha-amino acids from C1 of one alpha-amino acid and N2 of another, along a peptide or protein chain.
Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus Capsicum. It is a potent irritant for mammals, including humans, and produces a sensation of burning in any tissue with which it comes into contact. Capsaicin and several related amides (capsaicinoids) are produced as secondary metabolites by chili peppers, likely as deterrents against certain mammals and fungi. Pure capsaicin is a hydrophobic, colorless, highly pungent crystalline solid.
Black pepper 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 is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter, dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed. Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as pepper, or more precisely as black pepper, green pepper, or white pepper.
Tramadol, sold under the brand name Ultram among others, is an opioid pain medication and a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) used to treat moderately severe pain. When taken by mouth in an immediate-release formulation, the onset of pain relief usually begins within an hour. It is also available by injection. It is available in combination with paracetamol (acetaminophen).
The Piperaceae, also known as the pepper family, are a large family of flowering plants. The group contains roughly 3,600 currently accepted species in five genera. The vast majority of species can be found within the two main genera: Piper and Peperomia.
Melanism is the congenital excess of melanin in an organism resulting in dark pigment.
Piperine, possibly along with its isomer chavicine, is the compound responsible for the pungency of black pepper and long pepper. It has been used in some forms of traditional medicine.
Nonylphenols are a family of closely related organic compounds composed of phenol bearing a 9 carbon-tail. Nonylphenols can come in numerous structures, all of which may be considered alkylphenols. They are used in manufacturing antioxidants, lubricating oil additives, laundry and dish detergents, emulsifiers, and solubilizers. They are used extensively in epoxy formulation in North America but its use has been phased out in Europe. These compounds are also precursors to the commercially important non-ionic surfactants alkylphenol ethoxylates and nonylphenol ethoxylates, which are used in detergents, paints, pesticides, personal care products, and plastics. Nonylphenol has attracted attention due to its prevalence in the environment and its potential role as an endocrine disruptor and xenoestrogen, due to its ability to act with estrogen-like activity. The estrogenicity and biodegradation heavily depends on the branching of the nonyl sidechain. Nonylphenol has been found to act as an agonist of the GPER (GPR30).
Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is a chromatography technique that separates components in non-volatile mixtures.
Curium (96Cm) is an artificial element with an atomic number of 96. Because it is an artificial element, a standard atomic weight cannot be given, and it has no stable isotopes. The first isotope synthesized was 242Cm in 1944, which has 146 neutrons.
Bohrium (107Bh) is an artificial element. Like all artificial elements, it has no stable isotopes, and a standard atomic weight cannot be given. The first isotope to be synthesized was 262Bh in 1981. There are 11 known isotopes ranging from 260Bh to 274Bh, and 1 isomer, 262mBh. The longest-lived isotope is 270Bh with a half-life of 2.4 minutes, although the unconfirmed 278Bh may have an even longer half-life of about 690 seconds.
Long pepper, sometimes called Indian long pepper or pippali, is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Long pepper has a taste similar to, but sweeter and more pungent than, that of its close relative Piper nigrum – from which black, green and white pepper are obtained.
Caryophyllene, more formally (−)-β-caryophyllene (BCP), is a natural bicyclic sesquiterpene that occurs widely in nature. Caryophyllene is notable for having a cyclobutane ring, as well as a trans-double bond in a 9-membered ring, both rarities in nature.
4-Methylaminorex is a stimulant drug of the 2-amino-5-aryloxazoline class that was first synthesized in 1960 by McNeil Laboratories. It is also known by its street name "U4Euh" ("Euphoria"). It is banned in many countries as a stimulant.
Zearalenone (ZEN), also known as RAL and F-2 mycotoxin, is a potent estrogenic metabolite produced by some Fusarium and Gibberella species. Specifically, the Gibberella zeae, the fungal species where zearalenone was initially detected, in its asexual/anamorph stage is known as Fusarium graminearum. Several Fusarium species produce toxic substances of considerable concern to livestock and poultry producers, namely deoxynivalenol, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) and zearalenone. Particularly, ZEN is produced by Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium cerealis, Fusarium equiseti, Fusarium verticillioides, and Fusarium incarnatum. Zearalenone is the primary toxin that binds to estrogen receptors, causing infertility, abortion or other breeding problems, especially in swine. Often, ZEN is detected together with deoxynivalenol in contaminated samples and its toxicity needs to be considered in combination with the presence of other toxins.
Peropsin, a visual pigment-like receptor, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RRH gene. It belongs like other animal opsins to the G protein-coupled receptors. Even so, the first peropsins were already discovered in mice and humans in 1997, not much is known about them.
In chemistry, isomers are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formula – that is, the same number of atoms of each element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. Isomerism refers to the existence or possibility of isomers.
Pungency refers to the taste of food commonly referred to as spiciness, hotness or heat, found in foods such as chili peppers. Highly pungent tastes may be experienced as unpleasant. The term piquancy is sometimes applied to foods with a lower degree of pungency that are "agreeably stimulating to the palate". Examples of piquant food include mustard and curry. The primary substances responsible for pungent taste are capsaicin, piperine and allyl isothiocyanate.
Bioenhancers or biopotentiators or bioavailability enhancers is a new chapter in medical science first scientifically established in 1979 after the discovery of world's first bioenhancer piperine. It is a pocket friendly drug technology which reduces the destruction, wastage and elimination of several orally administered drugs inside the body.
