The Black Pepper plant is a woody climber and can reach upto heights of upto 10 meters. Black pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupe of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The drupes dry in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper skin around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. Once dry, the spice is called black peppercorn. On some estates, the berries are separated from the stem by hand and then sun-dried without boiling. After the peppercorns are dried, pepper spirit and oil can be extracted from the berries by crushing them. Pepper spirit is used in many medicinal and beauty products. Pepper oil is also used as an ayurvedic massage oil and in certain beauty and herbal treatments.

Black Pepper is deemed the "king of spices" and has been in ancient Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. Here are some of the health benefits of using Black Pepper:

• It has high anti-oxidant properties which helps prevent free radical damage to human cells.
• It has anti-inflammatory properties.
• It is said to have demonstrated potential benefits for symptoms related to degenerative brain conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
• It may improve blood sugar metabolism.
• It has been studied for its potential to reduce cholesterol levels.
• It also helps reduce appetite.