Pepper - chemistry, technology, and quality evaluation.
Pepper is the most important of the spices, with a long history. This article critically reviews our knowledge of the chemistry, processing, and quality evaluation of the product, with emphasis on the constituents contributing to the sensory properties of the spice for which it is valued in food. Other areas briefly summarized include its history, horticultural aspects, production and trade data, and physiological effects. Allied spices and aromatic members of the same family are also considered briefly.
Studies on the metabolism of piperine: absorption, tissue distribution and excretion of urinary conjugates in rats.
Upon administration of piperine, the major bite factor of black pepper, to male albino rats at a dose of 30 mg (170 mg/kg) by gavage or 15 mg (85 mg/kg) intraperitoneally, about 97% was absorbed irrespective of the mode of dosing. Three per cent of the administered dose was excreted as piperine in the feces. Piperine was not detectable in urine. When everted sacs of rat intestines were incubated with 200-1000 micrograms of piperine, about 47-64% of the added piperine disappeared from the mucosal side. Only piperine was present in the serosal fluid and also the intestinal tissue, indicating that piperine did not undergo any metabolic change during absorption. Examination of the passage of piperine through the gut indicated that the highest concentration in the stomach and small intestine was attained at about 6 h. Only traces (less than 0.15%) of piperine were detected in serum, kidney and spleen from 30 min to 24 h. About 1-2.5% of the intraperitoneally administered piperine was detected in the liver during 0.5-6 h after administration as contrasted with 0.1-0.25% of the orally administered dose. The increased excretion of conjugated uronic acids, conjugated sulphates and phenols indicated that scission of the methylenedioxy group of piperine, glucuronidation and sulphation appear to be the major steps in the disposition of piperine in the rat.
Comparative study of the molecular species of chloropropanediol diesters and triacylglycerols in milk fat
In an effort to establish the origin of the fatty acid esters of 3-chloropropanediol, which recently have been isolated in small amounts from goat milk, we compared the molecular species composition of the chlorohydrin diesters and of goat milk triacylglycerols. The chloropropanediol diesters were found to be composed of molecular species containing C10−C18 fatty acids and corresponded closely in carbon number to those calculated for the long chain sn-1,2-diacyl-glycerol moieties of goat milk triacylglycerols. The molecular species of goat milk total triacylglycerols contained C4−C18 fatty acids. It is suggested that triacylglycerols and chloropropanediol diesters are derived from the same pool of long chain fatty acids. A molecular distillate of bovine milk fat did not contain chloropropanediol diesters, while the available samples of human milk fat were shown to contain alkyldiacylglycerols as the major components of a neutral lipid fraction corresponding in polarity to the chloropropanediol diesters.