Piperine

Black pepper extract · Piper nigrum · BioPerine

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Curcumin absorption¹ Iron absorption² Stress and anxiety³ Weight management⁴ Inflammation in metabolic syndrome⁵ Fatty liver disease⁶	Insulinoma⁷

Piperine is the main pungent alkaloid of black pepper (Piper nigrum), added to supplements to raise the absorption of co-administered compounds by slowing their metabolism and efflux^{8, 9}. It is used chiefly alongside curcumin, whose poor oral bioavailability limits its effect, and with iron in physically active people. It also appears in standardized botanical combinations, such as ashwagandha extract for stress and anxiety and Cyperus rotundus extract for weight management. Typical patients are those taking curcumin for metabolic or inflammatory conditions.

Nearly all human data test piperine inside a combination, so its separate contribution is not isolated.¹⁰ Meta-analyses of curcumin plus piperine found lower total cholesterol; one also found lower triglycerides and higher HDL cholesterol^{10, 11}. A 2020 trial of a resveratrol, piperine, and alpha-tocopherol combination in older adults with metabolic syndrome reported lower inflammatory markers over three months¹². Products listing piperine number 4,826 in the Dietary Supplement Label Database, mostly capsules and powders, often paired with curcumin; see Form comparison.

The main caution is interaction. A 2021 safety review of isolated piperine found interactions with several medications, mostly raising drug bioavailability, and animal studies pointed to reproductive effects¹³. A case report linked curcumin plus piperine to hypoglycemia in a patient with an undiagnosed insulinoma⁷.

Last updated October 15, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

71 sources, 59 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources