Piper cubeba L. F.

English Name : Tailed Pepper

Family : Piperaceae

Origin : Indonesia

Description

A climbing shrub with cylindrical, smooth, zigzag, striate stems, somewhat thickened at the nodes. Leaves alternate, on short stout petioles, blade about 6 inches long, lanceolate or oval-oblong, tapering to the acute apex, usually somewhat unequal at the base, quite entire, slightly wavy, glabrous on both surfaces, somewhat coriaceous, deep green, rather paler and with prominent veins beneath. Flowers unisexual, dioecious, minute, sessile, each with a bract at the base, densely crowded in small, cylindrical, stalked, solid spikes coming off opposite the leaves. Fruit globular, smooth, about ¼ inch long, with a blunt apiculus and tapering below into a stalk-like base.

Parts Used : Fruit, Seed and Essential Oil

Herb Effects
Kills mosquito larvae, anthelmintic and antiviral (essential oil); antibacterial (seed); antiasthmatic, irritant, carminative, sedative, diuretic and antidysenteric (fruit)

Active Ingredients
Linolic, palmitic, linolenic, oleic, arachidic, stearic, behenic and hexadecenoic acids (seed); sesquiterpenes (essential oil); 1,8-cineole, alpha-pinene, alpha-terpinene, alpha-terpineol, apiole, asarone, azulene, beta-bisabolene, beta-elemene, beta-pinene, caryophyllene, delta-cadinene, gamma-terpinene, limonene, myrcene, nerolidol, safrole (fruit); alpha-phellandrene (plant).

Medicinal Use
Asthma (fruit); in gonorrhea, gleet and inflammation of the bladder.

Dosage
Tea (add 1 tsp. Cubebs to 1 cup of boiling water cover and steep for 10 min): hot or cold, a mouthful 3 times a day or 1/2 cup at bedtime.
Oil:5 to 15 drops.
Powder:1/2 to 2 tsp.

Reference