PHARMACOGNOSTICAL STUDIES ON THE ROOTS OF PIPER NIGRUM L.: ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL

At least 84,000 tons of pepper roots in all pepper plantations around the world are discarded annualy and they are rarely used as a spice or a herb only by local people in the South China. It was significantly used for treatment of 84 cases suffering from sciatica. This paper may be the first report on ethnopharmacology and morphology of the pepper root. The result of anatomical studies showed that a pericycle ring of stone cells, 5–9 vascular bundles, a vessel with tylosis, a ray in the shape of the letter "V", a parenchymatous cell containing crystal sands, and the pith existed in its histological structure.