Some like it hot, others do not. However, everyone likes the “hot” benefits of hot, thermogenic, fat-burning spices, such as black pepper.
Granted, black pepper isn’t exactly the hottest of the spices—far from it, in fact—and to many spice fans who douse their meals with cayenne and habanero, black pepper barely even qualifies as “spicy.” Rather, it’s more like a flavor additive and, thus, subjective to one’s personal tastes.
Even so, even if you’re not a fan of the taste of black pepper, black pepper extract is likely still on your radar as a health and fitness supplement. One that you don’t necessarily need to “taste” to appreciate its benefits.
But what exactly are the health benefits of black pepper extract? Is this a solely beneficial supplement, or are there any downsides and side effects?
In this Ultimate Guide on Black Pepper Extract, we answer all these questions and more, including a brief breakdown of the best black pepper extract supplement to look for on the market: BioPerine®.
Let’s get to it.
Ultimate Guide on Black Pepper Extract
Let’s start with the basics: what is black pepper, let alone black pepper extract?
That’s easy enough, as anyone familiar with “salt and pepper” is familiar with black pepper. At every table of every diner and restaurant, there’s some kind of black pepper dispenser. In fact, black pepper is so prevalent in the human diet, that we generally take black pepper for granted, noticing it only when it runs out or it’s missing from the table.
Part of the reason we take black pepper for granted is because it has been used as a spice since prehistoric days, with records of it being traded since roughly 2,000 BCE.
Native to the southwestern Kerala province of India, black pepper (Piper Nigrum L.) is a small, round fruit grown on flowering vines. Once dried, black pepper is typically ground into a food seasoning spice, though some traditional Ayurvedic herbalism has used black pepper for various ailments, including digestive issues, respiratory problems, muscle aches and pains, and skin problems.1
Today, black pepper is predominantly favored as a food flavoring agent and, in health and fitness circles, as a thermogenic fat burner.
How Does Black Pepper Extract Work?
Whereas many spicy peppers supply thermogenic capsaicin, the primary bioactive constituent that makes spices spicy, black pepper derives most of its metabolic benefits from piperine, the bioactive alkaloid responsible for black pepper’s pungency and fat-burning potency.
Piperine is believed to work by interacting with the following receptors and proteins:
- TRPV1 + TRPA1: piperine seems to stimulate the activity of these two receptors, which play a key role in thermogenesis (calorie burning) and metabolic energy production.2
- MC-4 Receptor: piperine also seems to stimulate MC-4, a receptor that modulates the activities of two enzymes involved in fat metabolism: LCAT and LPL.3
- PPARγ + LXRα: piperine seems to inhibit these two proteins, which play a key role in the production and formation of new fat cells.4
In other words, black pepper’s piperine seems to micro-target specific receptors and enzymatic pathways involved in both metabolic energy production and new fat cell formation — and this is only covering the “fat-burning” aspects of this constituent.
It also seems to assist with the intestinal absorption of other key nutrients... but we'll get to that later.
Piperine vs. Capsaicin: Which is Better?
In many fat burner supplements, you’ll find either black pepper extract (piperine), cayenne pepper extract (capsaicin), or, ideally, both piperine and capsaicin.
While piperine and capsaicin are two separate compounds, they’re both typically associated with spicy foods. Each gives rise to the unique pungency and kick of certain herbal spices, such as black pepper (for piperine) and most other spices (for capsaicin).
However, while piperine and capsaicin are separate, there’s no reason why you should have to choose one over the other. If anything, both work together.
Both possess many of the same thermogenic fat-burning properties, to varying degrees,5 while piperine may potentially assist with the bioavailability of capsaicinoids.
On that note, for general nutrient absorption enhancing benefits, black pepper is sufficient—but for a comprehensive thermogenic fat-burning formula, taking both piperine and capsaicin is ideal.
Black Pepper Extract: Full Benefits
So, black pepper extract derives much of its pungency, potency, and power from piperine, which engages various metabolic receptors and enzymatic processes involved in thermogenesis and fat metabolism. But what are the distinct health and fitness benefits of these bio-effects?
While the advantages of consuming black pepper are potentially numerous, there are three main health benefits to supplementing black pepper extract (piperine) including:
1| Increased Energy Expenditure
One of the best ways to lose weight, specifically fat mass, is to gain weight, specifically lean muscle mass (or what’s clinically called “fat-free mass”).
Why? As muscle mass increases, so does resting metabolic energy expenditure.
This is where a lot of fat-burner supplement buyers get duped: they’re led to believe that simply consuming a certain ingredient or formula without putting in the work (i.e., without exercising) will help them lose fat in any meaningful sense.
However, having said that… while you need to expend some energy to get the most out of black pepper extract’s thermogenic fat-burning benefits, research suggests that piperine may help up-regulate the metabolic rate of resting muscle.6
That makes it an effective fat burner for both on-the-spot exercise-related thermogenesis and resting thermogenesis.
2| Inhibited Adipogenesis (Fat Cell Formation)
Increasing the expenditure of energy (i.e., stored fat calories) is one way to decrease one’s excess fat mass. Another way to mitigate excess stored fat is to inhibit adipogenesis, or the formation of new fat cells, altogether.
In one study on the effects of piperine on mice cells, a group of researchers found that piperine significantly decreases the formation of new fat cells by inhibiting the actions of adipogenic proteins (PPARγ and LXRα), which, as covered above, are also found in human cells.
At the end of the study, the researchers concluded that “piperine, a major component of black pepper, attenuates fat cell differentiation by down-regulating PPARγ activity as well as suppressing PPARγ expression, thus leading to potential treatment for obesity-related diseases.”7
3| Enhanced Nutrient Bioavailability
Though the first two benefits focus primarily on metabolic energy enhancement and fat loss, black pepper extract is found in a lot of non-fat-burning supplements due to its other well-known nutritional benefit: piperine’s ability to enhance nutrient bioavailability.
Paired with other nutrients and nutraceuticals, namely those with poor oral bioavailability, piperine acts as an enhancer, essentially boosting the bio-benefits of the other ingredients sharing its formula.8 For some compounds (listed below), piperine is deemed almost as an essential component for them to work fully and properly.
Who Takes Black Pepper Extract?
Typically, people who “take” black pepper do so because they enjoy the added flavor on certain meals—or even all of their meals if they’re black pepper fanatics. For health and fitness enhancement, however, black pepper is typically reserved for formulas designed to boost natural energy expenditure or thermogenic fat burning.
However, even for supplements not designed to boost energy and burn fat, black pepper extract may work as a general “formula enhancer,” thanks to the spice’s ability to boost the availability and efficacy of many other nutrients.
Most famously, black pepper extract helps unlock the health benefits of turmeric, as well as a few other nutrients listed below.
Black Pepper Extract (Piperine) Helps Boost Absorption of These Nutrients
Alone, black pepper extract (piperine) possesses some significant metabolic benefits. But in the same way that virtually no one eats black pepper by itself, almost no one takes black pepper extract as a standalone supplement.
Instead, black pepper extract is used in conjunction with other ingredients to help amplify their effects. Some key nutrients that work much better with a little piperine include:
Turmeric (Curcumin)
Known as the “golden spice,” turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a sort of superfood plant that gives curry its yellow color and immense health properties. Used in traditional Ayurvedic health traditions for various health conditions, turmeric is backed by thousands of years of anecdotal value as well as plenty of clinical research.
But there is one problem with turmeric: curcumin, turmeric’s primary bioactive constituent, has poor oral bioavailability—meaning that you have to consume a lot of turmeric to unlock its health advantages.9
Or, alternatively, you can stack turmeric with black pepper extract (piperine).
As a polyphenol, curcumin has a wide range of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti-fungal properties. To maximize these benefits, pairing curcumin with piperine helps your body better absorb the polyphenol, with some research finding the increase in bioavailability to be upwards of 2000%.10
CoQ10 + PQQ
A vitamin-like compound required for bioenergetics in all life forms, CoQ10 is often paired with PQQ, a unique antioxidant related to B-vitamins, to enhance and protect mitochondrial function.
For a natural energy boost, as opposed to the “synthetic” stimulation provided by caffeine and other stimulants, CoQ10 + PQQ are typically recommended, thanks to their complementary support on:11,12
- Mitochondrial Biogenesis – the creation of new mitochondria.
- Mitochondrial Protection – the reduction of oxidative stress (free radicals).
- ATP Energy Production – the promotion of natural cellular ATP energy.
However, as we age, CoQ10 levels naturally decline, which is why CoQ10 and PQQ supplementation increases in importance as we get older.
Some advanced forms of CoQ10 and PQQ (as MicroActive® Q10 and BioPQQ®) may help enhance the bioavailability of these forms—but to greatly boost CoQ10 bioavailability, upwards of 30%, black pepper extract may help.13
Green Tea Catechins
Similar to turmeric, green tea (Camellia sinensis) is viewed by many as a sort of “superfood” with a wide range of health and fitness benefits, thanks to the herb’s rich complex of bioactive compounds, namely L-theanine, caffeine, and antioxidant catechins.
These catechins, in particular epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), help naturally protect against the formation and harm of free radicals in the body, while potentially providing significant weight management advantages.14
Typically, the antioxidant health benefits of green tea extract supplements come from their high concentration of catechins. Mice research suggests that piperine enhances the bioavailability of green tea EGCG even further by inhibiting glucuronidation, a metabolic step in the digestive process that otherwise impairs the bioavailability of EGCG.15
How to Take Black Pepper Extract
Both as a supplement and as a dietary additive, black pepper’s benefits are predominantly derived from the spice’s interactions with other nutrients.
As a standalone ingredient, certainly, there are some thermogenic advantages to taking black pepper; however, most of the appeal of black pepper extract is in how it boosts the effects of other ingredients, such as curcumin, catechins, etc.
With that in mind, the best way to take black pepper extract is with other ingredients. In other words, as part of a complete formula with ingredients whose bio-effects you’d like to maximize with black pepper’s nutrient absorption-enhancing effects.
Dosage Notes
Typically standardized to 95% piperine, a nearly pure piperine concentration, black pepper extract can deal out its health and nutrient benefits in remarkably tiny doses. So tiny, in fact, that there’s almost no excuse not to add a little black pepper extract to your formula if the benefits of your supplement align with those of black pepper extract.
With that in mind, dosages ranging from 2.5mg – 10mg black pepper extract per serving are sufficient for delivering black pepper extract’s fat-burning, nutrient-enhancing benefits.
Depending on the piperine extract you’re using, the ideal dosage may vary. However, for BioPerine® (see below), the most popular and researched black pepper extract, small dosages are fine.
Are There Any Side Effects?
Black pepper has been a staple of the human diet for thousands of years and is both generally and clinically considered safe. So much so that the “spiciness” of black pepper is referenced only jokingly to make fun of those who typically “can’t handle” spicy foods.
Even so, for some, black pepper extract may mildly irritate the intestinal lining, especially for those with stomach ulcers and/or who have recently undergone intestinal surgery.
Best Black Pepper Extract Supplement: BioPerine®
Standardized to a potent 95% piperine, BioPerine® is the go-to black pepper extract favored by most supplements to unlock the potency of their formulas.
Used as a bioavailability enhancer for over 20 years, BioPerine® is backed by many positive reviews, as well as clinical research finding this extract capable of enhancing general nutrient absorption (from CoQ10 to vitamin A) by at least 30%.
Used to enhance the bioavailability of CoQ10 and for its distinct metabolic benefits, BioPerine® is found in the Performance Lab® Energy formula that uniquely boosts natural, cellular ATP energy without relying on cheap stimulants or megadoses of caffeine.
A 100% natural, stim-free energy booster, Performance Lab® Energy maximizes its mitochondrial energy enhancement potential with the highly purified black pepper extract supplied by BioPerine®.
Get the Best Deal on Performance Lab® EnergyConclusion: Should You Take Black Pepper Extract?
If “take it with a grain of salt” means to regard a piece of information as only partially true, the phrase “take it with a grain of pepper” should instead invoke a heightened degree of excitement.
Because when you add black pepper to just about anything, whether a meal or a supplement formula, the nutritional capacity goes up while the fat-building caloric content decreases.
In other words, black pepper, namely piperine, helps your body absorb all the good stuff in your diet while blocking the bad stuff from being stored as fat.
Having said that, not every meal goes well with black pepper and not everyone even likes black pepper. This is where taking a black pepper extract supplement, like BioPerine®, or a BioPerine®-supplying formula like Performance Lab® Energy comes into play.
Delivering all the spicy metabolic benefits and none of the taste, BioPerine® may significantly enhance your relationship with your diet while assisting with your weight and fat loss goals.
With such exceptional benefits and minimal risk of side effects, there’s really no excuse why you shouldn’t start adding black pepper extract to your daily routine—especially if you’re also considering such superfoods as turmeric and green tea.
References
- Butt MS et al. Black pepper and health claims: a comprehensive treatise. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2013; 53(9): 875-86.
- McNamara FN et al. Effects of piperine, the pungent component of black pepper, at the human vanilloid receptor (TRPV1). Br J Pharmacol. 2005 Mar; 144(6): 781-790.
- Shah SS et al. Effect of piperine in the regulation of obesity-induced dyslipidemia in high-fat diet rats. Indian J Pharmacol. 2011 May-Jun; 43(3): 296-299.
- Wang L et al. Piperine inhibits ABCA1 degradation and promotes cholesterol efflux from THP-1-derived macrophages. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2017 Apr; 61(4): 1500960.
- Liu L, Simon SA. Similarities and differences in the currents activated by capsaicin, piperine, and zingerone in rat trigeminal ganglion cells. J Neuropsychiol. 1996 Sep; 76(3): 1858-69.
- Nogara L et al. Piperine’s mitigation of obesity and diabetes can be explained by its up-regulation of the metabolic rate of resting muscle. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Nov 15; 113(46): 13009-13014.
- Park UH et al. Piperine, a component of black pepper, inhibits adipogenesis by antagonizing PPARγ activity in 3T3-L1 cells. J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Apr 18; 60(15): 3853-60.
- Kesarwani K, Gupta R. Bioavailability enhancers of herbal origin: An overview. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2013 Apr; 3(4): 253-266.
- Stohs SJ et al. Highly Bioavailable Forms of Curcumin and Promising Avenues for Curcumin-Based Research and Application: A Review. Molecules. 2020 Mar; 25(6): 1397.
- Shoba G et al. Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin in animals and human volunteers. Planta Med. 1998 May; 64(4): 353-6.
- Parikh S et al. A Modern Approach to the Treatment of Mitochondrial Disease. Curr Treat Options Neurol. 2009 Nov; 11(6): 414-430.
- CoQ10 increases mitochondrial mass and polarization, ATP and Oct4 potency levels, and bovine oocyte MII during IVM while decreasing AMPK activity and oocyte death. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2017 Dec; 34(12): 1595-1607.
- Badmaev V et al. Piperine derived from black pepper increases the plasma levels of coenzyme Q10 following oral supplementation. J Nutr Biochem. 2000 Feb; 11(2): 109-13.
- Legeay S et al. Epigallocatechin Gallate: A Review of Its Beneficial Properties to Prevent Metabolic Syndrome. Nutrients. 2015 Jul; 7(7): 5443-5468.
- Lambert JD et al. Piperine enhances the bioavailability of the tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate in mice. J Nutr. 2004 Aug; 134(8): 1948-52.
