Black pepper is made from dried unripe peppercorns. White pepper is made from ripe peppercorns that have been soaked and had their outer skins removed.
Pepper was used in early folk medicine as a remedy for the bubonic plague. It was also used in the treatment of feverish infections, such as typhus, cholera, smallpox, scarlet fever and dysentery.
From Greek and Roman times, it has been used to treat colds and catarrh. They also used it to improve the digestive system.
One of the properties that pepper was regarded as having was the ability to bring down fevers by inducing perspiration. It was also regarded as being a diuretic.
Pepper was thought to improve digestion and act as a stimulant of the appetite. It was also used as a painkiller.
Externally, pepper was used as a counter irritant, known as a rubefacient, to relieve the pain of painful joints in conditions such as rheumatism by bringing the inflammation to the surface. Pepper was also used as a treatment for cuts and wounds and acted as a gargle for sore throats.
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