Oleoresina Piperis. U. S.
Oleoresina Piperis. U. S.
Oleoresin of Pepper. Oleores. Piper.
Related entry: Black Pepper.
Extractum Piperis Fluidum, U. S. 1850; Fluid Extract of Black Pepper; Oleoresine de Peivre noir, Fr.; Aetherisches Pfefferextrakt, G.
"Pepper, in No. 40 powder, five hundred grammes [or 17 ounces av., 279 grains]; Ether, a sufficient quantity. Place the pepper in a cylindrical glass percolator, provided with a stop-cock, and arranged with a cover and a receptacle for volatile liquids. Pack the powder 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 dish, set this aside in a warm place until the remaining ether has evaporated, and the deposition of piperine has ceased. Lastly, separate the Oleoresin from the piperine by straining through purified cotton. Keep the Oleoresin in a well-stoppered bottle." U. S.
A substance has long been in use under the name of oil of black pepper, consisting mainly of the volatile oil, fixed oil, and resin of the pepper, and belonging, therefore, to the oleoresins. As usually found, it is almost black and of a thick consistence, and is a residue of the process for preparing piperine. The official oleoresin made with ether has the same general character, but is more fluid and of more uniform strength, and should, therefore, be preferred. It contains almost all the volatile oil and acrid resin of black pepper, with little of the piperine, and, as the last-mentioned principle, when quite pure, is of doubtful efficacy, the oleoresin may be considered as representing the virtues of the fruit. The color is greener than that of the common oil of black pepper, and not so dark, owing to the fact that the solvent dissolves the green more readily than the brown coloring matter. A pound of black pepper yields about six drachms of the oleoresin.
Dose, from one-fourth to one minim (0.015-0.06 mil), in emulsion or pill.
