Piper nigrum (fruit; active: piperine)

Black pepper (piperine)

Black pepper is not a remedy in itself; its interest is piperine, an extract that raised blood curcumin about 20-fold in one small human study, though a similar trial with resveratrol found no clear boost. The main caution is that concentrated piperine slows the breakdown of many drugs, including epilepsy, asthma and HIV medicines, and raises their blood levels.

Curcumin-plus-piperine products have shown lower inflammation markers in pooled trials, but those trials cannot separate piperine's contribution.

Written by

Healthy and Herbal editorial team

Reviewed by

Healthy and Herbal editors

Updated

10 October 2026

At a glance

Last reviewed 10 October 2026

Evidence

Limited

Best for

Curcumin absorption

Typical form & use

Piperine extract, 5–20 mg with curcumin

Onset

Same night

Safety

Raises blood levels of many prescription drugs. 9 known interactions, most serious with epilepsy medication (anticonvulsants).

Check with your medications →

What it's used for

Evidence is rated per use. The same ingredient can be strong for one thing and traditional for another.

Use	Evidence	What the research shows
Boosting curcumin absorption	Limited	In a 1998 study in healthy volunteers, 20 mg piperine with 2 g curcumin raised curcumin's bioavailability by 2000%; curcumin alone was undetectable or very low. That is one small study (the abstract gives no sample size). A later randomised trial gave 24 healthy adults resveratrol 2.5 g with 0, 5 or 25 mg piperine and found no significant enhancement. Whether more absorbed curcumin means better health outcomes is not shown by these studies.^1,2
Curcumin-piperine combinations for inflammation markers	Limited	A meta-analysis of 13 randomised trials of curcumin plus piperine found lower TNF-alpha, IL-6 and malondialdehyde and higher superoxide dismutase and glutathione. A 2025 review of three pooled trials found lower triglycerides and LDL cholesterol with turmeric, with a larger LDL fall in the piperine subgroup (-29.6 vs -16.2 mg/dL). These trials are small, short, and several had industry links, and none compared curcumin with and without piperine head to head, so the benefit cannot be credited to black pepper.^6,7

Use

Evidence

What the research shows

Boosting curcumin absorption

Limited

In a 1998 study in healthy volunteers, 20 mg piperine with 2 g curcumin raised curcumin's bioavailability by 2000%; curcumin alone was undetectable or very low. That is one small study (the abstract gives no sample size). A later randomised trial gave 24 healthy adults resveratrol 2.5 g with 0, 5 or 25 mg piperine and found no significant enhancement. Whether more absorbed curcumin means better health outcomes is not shown by these studies.^1,2

Curcumin-piperine combinations for inflammation markers

Limited

A meta-analysis of 13 randomised trials of curcumin plus piperine found lower TNF-alpha, IL-6 and malondialdehyde and higher superoxide dismutase and glutathione. A 2025 review of three pooled trials found lower triglycerides and LDL cholesterol with turmeric, with a larger LDL fall in the piperine subgroup (-29.6 vs -16.2 mg/dL).

These trials are small, short, and several had industry links, and none compared curcumin with and without piperine head to head, so the benefit cannot be credited to black pepper.^6,7

How much

Ranges below are what studies used and what supplements commonly contain. They are not a recommendation for you. Start at the low end.

Studied range

5–25 mg piperine per dose^1,2,4,5

Doses tested with a partner compound were 20 mg (with 2 g curcumin), 5 or 25 mg (with resveratrol) and 24 mg across four doses (with curcuminoids). A review found human drug-interaction studies mostly used about 20 mg a day.

Regulator risk assessment

1.5 mg a day⁵

Norway's food safety committee judged 1.5 mg piperine a day in supplements unlikely to cause harm in people aged 10 or over. The studied supplement doses above exceed that figure. This was a risk assessment based on an animal no-effect level, not a recommended dose.

Culinary pepper

No dose studied⁵

The absorption and interaction studies we read used isolated piperine. We found no source testing pepper on food, so we cannot say whether meal-sized amounts matter.

Timing · The 1998 curcumin study measured blood levels within the first hour of a single dose taken together. No source we read gave timing advice for regular use.With food? · No source we read gave food guidance for piperine.How long to trial · Piperine is not taken to feel an effect; it is added to another compound. Judge it by the partner product's own timeline, and check whether any label states the piperine dose.

How people take it

Piperine extract inside a curcumin or other supplementAbout 5–20 mg per doseThe form studied in humans. Labels often say black pepper extract or a branded name rather than piperine, so the amount can be hard to see.

Isolated piperine capsuleVaries by productGerman risk assessors advise caution with isolated piperine taken as a bolus because of drug interactions and animal reproductive findings.

Ground black pepper as seasoningCulinary amountsNot the form tested in the studies we read, and no source we opened shows it changes drug levels or curcumin absorption.

Safety

Who should avoid

Anyone on prescription drugs, especially epilepsy, asthma, HIV or heart medicines — ask first
Pregnancy and breastfeeding — animal studies show reproductive harm; no human data
Trying to conceive — animal studies show reduced fertility at high doses
Children under 10 — the 1.5 mg risk assessment covered ages 10 and over
Drugs with a narrow safe dose — small rises in blood level can matter

Known interactions

CautionEpilepsy medication (anticonvulsants) — In healthy volunteers piperine raised blood levels of phenytoin and carbamazepine, and these drugs have a narrow safe range.

CautionHIV medication — Piperine raised blood levels of nevirapine in human studies, so the drug's effects and side effects could both increase.

CautionSedatives & sleep medication — Piperine at 15 mg a day for 3 days prolonged midazolam sedation in one human study, though a curcuminoid-piperine extract did not change midazolam levels in another (8 adults).

MonitorAntibiotics — Piperine raised rifampicin levels in human studies at about 50 mg a day, and it is not known whether this is helpful or harmful.

MonitorBlood pressure medication — Piperine raised propranolol levels in healthy volunteers, so a beta-blocker's effect could be stronger.

MonitorCurcumin — Piperine raised curcumin absorption sharply in one human study, so the same supplement dose gives a much larger exposure.

MonitorDigoxin & heart-rhythm medication — In cell tests piperine blocked the P-glycoprotein pump that clears digoxin; no human digoxin study is cited here.

MonitorImmunosuppressants — In cell tests piperine blocked P-glycoprotein transport of cyclosporine, but no human study is cited here.

MonitorAspirin & NSAID painkillers — Piperine raised diclofenac exposure in human studies reviewed by German risk assessors.

Questions people ask

Does black pepper really boost curcumin absorption?

Piperine, the pepper extract, raised blood curcumin by about 20-fold in one small human study from 1998. A later trial of piperine with resveratrol did not show a clear boost, and nothing we read shows the extra curcumin improves health outcomes.

Can I just add black pepper to my turmeric?

The studies used isolated piperine at 5–25 mg, not pepper as a seasoning. We found no source testing culinary pepper, so we cannot say whether it works the same way.

Does piperine interact with medicines?

Yes. In human studies isolated piperine raised blood levels of drugs including phenytoin, carbamazepine, propranolol, theophylline, nevirapine and diclofenac, usually by 1.1 to 2.7 times at 20 mg a day. German risk assessors say this could cause unintended side effects, so ask your pharmacist or doctor before taking it.

Is piperine safe in pregnancy?

Not established. Animal studies at higher doses than those given to people showed reduced fertility and harm to offspring, and human safety data are lacking, so ask a clinician or midwife first.