Facts and Health Benefits of Cubeb Pepper

What is Cubeb Pepper?

Piper Cubeba is a dried ripe berry that is usually called cubeb pepper. It is widely used in traditional medicines for treating several diseases like dysentery, urogenital diseases, diarrhea, abdominal pain, asthma, gonorrhea, enteritis, and syphilis.

It comes from the piper family and the cousin to piper longum and piper nigrum. The color of the Cubeb is grayish-brown and related in appearance to peppercorns.

The common names of the cubeb berry are West African black pepper, Javanese Pepper, Tailed Pepper, Cubeb, False Pepper, and Cubeb pepper.

Different Names of Cubeb Berries:

Botanical Name: Piper Cubeba
English Name: Cubeb Berries
Tamil Name: Chinamilagu, Sinamilagu, Valmilaku (வால்மிளகு) 
Malayalam Name: Vaalmilagu (വാൽമിലാക്കു)
Telugu Name: Chalavamiriyaalu  (చాలావామిరియాలు)
Kannada Name: Gantamenasu ( ಗಂಟಮೆಣಸು)
Hindi Name: Cubab-Chinee (कबाबचीनी)
Urdu Name: Kabab Chini (کباب چینی)
Russian Name: Dikij Perets (Дикий перец)
Bengali Name: Kabab Chini, Ki’ubēba (কিউবেব)
Arabic Name: Kababa (كبابة)

Plant Description

Cubeb pepper is a perennial, climbing woody shrub that grows up to 18 – 20 feet long. You can find this plant in the mangrove forest edges, streams, forest margins, tracks, and moist deciduous tropical forests. It can grow in well-drained, rich, and fertile soil. Its stem is glabrous, attached, cylindrical and straight stem slightly thickened at the ends, rooting at the ends.

Leaves

The leaves are short, stout petiole, and the length of the leaf is 6 inches. The shape of the leaf is lanceolate or oval oblong, tapering to the acute apex. It usually comes with the unequal base, slightly wavy, partially coriaceous, pale rather than deep green, the main vein below.

Flower

The flower of the cubeb pepper is unisexual, sessile, dioecious. Each flower comes with a bract base, densely crowded in small, round, pursued, and solid spikes against the leaves. Its male spikes are slim, shortly stalked, long in length, and the female spikes are shorter, rough, thick, and fat.

Fruit

Inflorescence axillary racemes, delicately pubescent, about 1/4 inches long, blunt and slightly tapering at the base, slightly longer than the round tip, horizontally projected from the axis and forming a slender raceme (many ovaries aborted) about 2 inches long. The fruits are green when the young yellow turns into red.

10 Health Benefits of Cubeb Berries (Vaalmilagu)

Dried cubeb berries have essential oil that includes sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes. The berries terpenes have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Generally, cubeb pepper is used for dizziness and headaches, and it acts as an aphrodisiac and improves concentration. The dense cube pepper powder will have a stimulating effect when smoked. Here we’ve listed some of the essential health benefits of consuming Cubeb pepper.

1. Inflammatory Diseases of the Urinary Tract

The cubeb pepper has an anti-inflammatory effect so that it is traditionally used for urogenital tract infections such as bladder catarrh, ureter infections, kidney inflammations, uterine and prostate inflammations.

Read also: The Most Effective Spices & Herbs For Inflammation

2. Gastritis and Digestion

Cubeb berries are one of the best natural remedies for gastritis problems, stimulating the gastrointestinal tract. It improves the digestive action by inciting salivation and the production of gastric extracts. It is especially powerful, after overeating cholesterol food and is difficult to digest.

Read also: 10 Common Digestive Herbs Naturally Boost Digestion

3. Respiratory Conditions and Chronic Bronchitis

Indian folk medicine (Ayurveda) acknowledges the antiseptic properties of this aging medicinal plant. Cubeb pepper is today used in Ayurveda as a cough-suppressant to alleviate mild bronchitis, nagging cough, and respiratory symptoms in general.

Read also: Best Herbs to Support Lung and Respiratory Health

4. Influenza

The cubeb plant seed is the best cold medicine, especially for babies. Mash 1 lesser galangal and 9 cubeb seeds in a little water. Apply this paste on your baby’s body. It gives relief from the influenza.

5. Overcome Fatigue

The cubeb gives some natural ingredients to improve your body strength. Take cubeb seeds 5, lime leaves 4, clove seeds 5, ½ ginger rhizomes, ½ nutmegs, a pinch of sugar, and cinnamon. Chop all the ingredients and then cook in 5 glasses of water. Idle until the water drops to 2 glasses. Strain and drink three times a day.

6. Mouth Odor

It is aromatic and comes with antiseptic properties so that you can use it for your dental problems. As well as it is beneficial for mouth odor (halitosis).

7. Fever Medicine

If you are suffering from fever and want the natural remedy, the cubeb is the perfect choice for you. Cubeb’s natural content is powerful in decreasing body heat when the flu comes.

Read also: 10 Incredible Natural Herbs to Cure Fever- A Detailed Guide

8. Medicine for a Headache

If you are looking for the best natural remedy to headache, the cubeb has the answer. It will give relief from dizziness, headaches and even migraine.

9. Natural Anti-inflammatory

Cubeb can fight against inflammation of your body. Naturally, the cubeb has anti-inflammatory properties that decrease the pain produced by the inflammation.

10. Cold & Cough

Cubeb is traditionally used for cough and cold situations. Since it has antipyretic properties, it can cure mild fevers.

Take the holy basil and turmeric powder in the tea form. Drinking is very pleasant when you are suffering from cold, and it eliminates headaches.

Read also: 10 Best Traditional Herbs That Help Treat Cold

22 Ayurvedic Health Benefits of Cubeb Berries

Cubeb berries are one of the natural and traditional medicines. Here we’ve mentioned some essential ayurvedic health benefits of Cubeb.

1.Asthma

If you are an asthma patient, then take a few cubebs. Keep it in a cigarette paper. Smoke once per day.

Read also: 10 Best Herbs for Asthma- An Overview

2.Bronchitis

Breathe the cube’s smoke once a day. ( or) Take the equal amount of both Cinnamon and Cubeb, then powder them. Have a pinch of powder and mix it with water, and ideal it for up to 5 minutes. Have it every day. (Or) Take the same amount of Galangal, Long Pepper, Licorice, and Cubeb, then grind all collectively. Put two teaspoons of powder into the water and boil it. You can also add two teaspoons of honey and drink it daily.

3.Hay Fever

Take some Cubeb pieces and burn it then inhale this smoke. It can cure you of hay fever.

4.Cough

For cough, roast some cubeb berries and powder it. Take a pinch of the powder and mix it with honey or lukewarm water. Drink it thrice a day, and the cough will be gone. (Or) Take Cubeb and cinnamon equally and grind them. Have a pinch of both powders and soak into the water for 2 to 3 minutes. Drink it once a day. (Or) Take one glass of warm water and mix the Galangal, Long Pepper, Cubeb, and Licorice powder equally. Add two teaspoons of Honey and drink it every day. The cough will cure quickly. (or) Grind Solanum Xanthocarpum roots and Cubeb equally. Take one cup of water and add the powder then boil them. After that, add one teaspoon of Honey. Drink it lukewarm.

5.Cold

Take Solanum Xanthocarpum and cubeb roots and grind them. Take two pinches of powder and put it into the cup of water and wait for boiling. Add one teaspoon of Honey and have it once a day.

6.Sore Throat 

Having a sore throat problem, roast a few cubebs then powder it. Have a pinch of it with Honey twice a day. It will cure.

7.Hoarseness

Is the voice barrier? Then take some cubeb and powder it. Add a pinch of powder with hot milk. Drink it every night and wait for the better result.

8.Indigestion

Take 1/2 teaspoon of Cubeb and soak it in the warm water for up to 5 minutes. Drink it twice a day. It reduces digestion problems fastly.

9.Phlegm

Having phlegm troubles? Take the Cubeb and Solanum Xanthocarpum root powder. Put them into the Honey and consume it for up to 3 days. You will get relief.

10.Stomach Disorders: 

You can also use Cubeb for stomach related issues. Eat Cubeb twice or thrice a day or add five drops of Cubeb oil to the sugar cube and have it once a day. You will get better results.

11.Toothache

Add 5 to 10 drops of cubeb oil into the lukewarm water. Swish twice a day.

12.Bad Breath

Take one glass of warm water and add five drops of cubeb oil in it. Swim with it two or three times a day. Or do the cube infusion. Swim with it.

13.Vaginal Explosion

Take 25 g of cubes and soak it half an hour in a liter of water. Use this as douche.

14.Menstrual Diseases

If you are having the menstrual-related issues, then the Cubeb has the answer. Take an equal amount of Indian Snakeroot powder and Cubeb powder. Mix them well and eat a 1/4 teaspoon twice a day. 

Warning: If you’re Pregnant, don’t consume it

15.Gum Disease

Take 1 cup of the bark of Acacia Nilotica and 1 cup of Azadirachta Indica then grind them. Add one tablespoon of cubeb powder, rock salt, and long pepper. Use it as a toothpaste after every meal.

16.Constipation

Take Cubeb, Carom, Asafoetida, Cardamom, and grind them separately. Take one cup of bitter apple juice. Put 1/4 teaspoon of each powder and mix them in juice. You can also add rock salt based on your taste. Drink half in the morning as well as half at night for up to seven days. 

Warning: Excessive vomiting and nausea may occur

Read also: 10 Effective Herbal Remedies for Constipation

17.Snake Biting

For treating snake bites use the Indian Snakeroot and Cubeb powder mixture. Take two teaspoon powder and add half teaspoon of salt then apply it around the bitten area. You can also use it internally.

18.Dandruff

You can make a hair oil using unrefined sesame oil, haritaki, fenugreek leaves, and Cubeb. It gives very effective results for all scalp problems. You can also use this oil as a pre-shampoo treatment. Moreover, it reduces the dandruff step by step.

Read also: How to Get Rid of Dandruff Permanently

19.Mouth Wash

Boil 1/4 teaspoon of Cubeb in the water and stir in 1 small crushed Sri Lankan cinnamon and a cup of water for some minutes. Use it as a mouthwash. It gives freshness for your mouth and stops bad smelling.

20.Mild Fever & Indigestion

Take a few holy basil leaves and beat lightly with 1/8 teaspoon cubeb. Take the pounded mixture quarter teaspoon and put the organic turmeric powder and a cup of water in a pan and boil until it is decreased to half, stir and taste the Honey. It is one of the best natural and traditional treatments for mild fevers and indigestion.

21.Piles

Are you a piles patient? Don’t worry anymore. Take a half teaspoon cubeb powder and mix it with warm milk. Drink twice a day. If you have constipation, use Triphala Churna.

Read also: 10 Best Herbs to Cure Pile or Hemorrhoids

22.Dysuria, Burning Urination

Consume Cubeb powder half teaspoon with sugar candy or misri in every day morning and evening.

Traditional Uses and Benefits of Cubeb Pepper

Cubeb berries are famous medicinal plants widely used in Europe and many other countries such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco, and Arabia.

Cubeb berry is recognized as a stomachic, carminative, antidysenteric, irritant, diuretic, expectorant, antiseptic, sedative, stimulant, and anti-asthmatic.

Cubeb berry acts on mucous tissues and stops extreme excretions from the urethra. One of Cubeb’s best benefits is it comes with a stimulating local impact on the mucous layers of the urinary and respiratory tracts. It exerts an influence on the urinary tract and provides the urine of deep color.

Cubeb can cure many issues such as spermatorrhea, gonorrhea, dysentery, Leucorrhoea, gleet, chronic bladder diseases, and acute prostatitis bronchial affections.

In UK, a variety of products have been used for throat complaints, including oleum cubebae (cubeb oil), tinctures, liquid juices, oleo-resin compounds, and vapors.

Generally, Cubeb is included in lozenges to treat bronchitis, utilizing the drug’s antiseptic and anticancer properties. However, the essential therapeutic use of Cubeb was in the treatment of gonorrhea. Cubeb berries are efficient in relieving the signs of chronic bronchitis.

You can use the cubeb paste as a mouthwash, and the dried Cubeb is used locally for oral and dental ailments, voice loss, halitosis, fever, and cough. If you are suffering from digestive diseases and diarrhea, the Cubeb is the best treatment for you.

The herb is often associated with the generative system and is used to treat prostate infections, leukorrhea, urinary tract, and cystitis.

In India, Unani doctors use the cubeb berries paste externally into male and female genitals to enhance sexual pleasure during coitus. In the Middle Ages, Indian doctors and Arab doctors used cubeb berries as essential elements in the aphrodisiac remedy for infertility.

Cubeb has been used in tonics, indigestion compounds, and many medical compounds to manage rheumatism in and after delivery. It is also suggested for outside applications.

Cubeb berries have also been used in Indonesia to treat diarrhea, abdominal pain, gonorrhea, enteritis, asthma, and syphilis.

In China, Cubeb is used as traditional medicine for its warming properties. In Tibet, Cubeb is one of the six fine herbs in bzang po drugs. It helps you get relief from the muscle’s painful contraction, so it effectively manages Muscle Cramp.

It normalizes digestive capacities and extends it, thereby preventing digestive difficulties and indigestion. Cubeb dislodges mucus from the respiratory tract and prevents you from respiratory ailments. It gives relief from cough and cold. In addition, it can cure asthma states.

You can also use the Cubeb for Erectile Dysfunction treatment. As the cubeb fruit has an expectorant effect, it can counter Bronchitis and Laryngitis. It is also used to remove odors from the mouth. Moreover, it acts as a tonic to preserve the body from leukorrhea.

As it has a Carminative attribute, it helps to discharge the gas from the intestinal and Stomach. The notable thing of the Cubeb is its anti-inflammatory property that can heal quickly from Inflammation within the body.

Since it has antiseptic properties, it helps to prevent the microorganisms’ growth in your body. The Aphrodisiac action of the Cubeb can improve the libido in both male and female. Its Anti-emetic properties can fight against Nausea and Vomiting.

Cubeb tea is known to help with mild colds because it can help treat bronchitis and other related respiratory ailments. Its tea can also fight against infections in the urinary tract. In addition, this tea gives relief from flatulence and bloating of the digestive tract. It is also a remedy against infertility as well as help to increase sexual pleasure.

Culinary Uses

In the middle ages, Cubeb was one of the main spices in Europe, and today its Culinary importance has been bettered by medicinal uses. The cubeb powder has used seasoning for meat and in sauces.

A typical medieval recipe is for sauce made with spices, including almond milk and cubes. The cube was mostly made of candy and was eaten whole as aromatic candy.

During the fourteenth century, a cubeb of vinegar, known as Osset Kubebovi, was infused with cumin and garlic and used for meat in Poland. It can improve the taste of delicious soups.

Among Moroccan cuisine, Cubeb delights in delicacies and pastries such as mark-outs and the famous spice mix, Ras el hanout a popular blend of herbs and spices used throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Used in Ras el hanout Pastilla, Moroccan squab/ young pigeon and almond pastry are sometimes filled into meats and combined with couscous or rice.

For example, in Gules (curry) in Indonesia, Cubeb is used as a spice to give flavor to food in South and Southeast Asia. It is trendy in West African cuisine. Cubeb should be smashed or milled before using it in cooking.

An original blend of cubebol oil is traded by the Swiss company like a cooling and refreshing agent. It is used in a variety of products, such as chewing gum, drinks, sorbets, gelatin-based candies, and toothpaste.

You can also use the Cubeb to taste alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and drinks. Bombay Sapphire is flavored with gin cube and grains of paradise.

Russian pepper vodka, Pertsovka, and dark brown have a fiery taste, made from an admixture of cubeb and capsicum peppers. As an aromatic confectionery item, the cube was often made into candy and eaten whole.

Quick Facts

Cubeb is also used in soaps and perfumes for its aroma. In addition, it is also used as a flavoring in toothpaste and tobacco (Cubeb cigarettes) in addition to food.

In 2000, Shiseido Cosmetics in Japan registered anti-aging outcomes with formulas that were made from many herbs, including Cubeb.

In the African-American form of folk magic, the cubeb berries are used in love-drawing magical characters by the practitioners of Hoodu.

Precautions

High doses of cubeb berries can cause Nausea, vomiting, burning pain, cramps, and cleansing. And also cause skin rashes, headaches.

If there is any digestive tract inflammation, then avoid using it. It may create side effects such as anxiety, kidney and bladder pain, urinary tract irritation, skin rashes, and headaches.

People who are suffering from nephritis should nevermore use Cubeb.