Black Pepper Extract (Piperine 95%)

Piperine is the pungent alkaloid of pepper: (2E,4E)-5-(2H-1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-1-(piperidin-1-yl)penta-2,4-dien-1-one, CAS 94-62-2, C17H19NO3, molecular weight 285.34, melting near 130 °C. Thovek's 95% grade is solvent-extracted from dried Piper nigrum L. fruit and crystallised, so what ships is a defined chemical rather than a botanical concentrate. Commercial black and white pepper carry roughly 5–10% piperine, which puts the isolate at somewhere near a tenfold to twentyfold concentration on the peppercorn. A 98% grade and a 50% water-dispersible granulation are available on the same base. This is a milligram ingredient, not a bulk one. Typical inclusion is 5–10 mg per serving, so it is almost always pre-blended or granulated before it reaches a tablet press or capsule filler; a straight 95% crystal dosed neat at that level will not blend uniformly. Piperine is practically insoluble in water (about 40 mg/L) but soluble in ethanol and freely soluble in chloroform, which is why beverage and effervescent formats usually take the dispersible granulation and softgels take an oil dispersion. Published pharmacokinetic work describes piperine's effect on intestinal and hepatic metabolising enzymes and on efflux transport, which is the reason brands pair it with poorly soluble actives such as curcumin; substantiating any statement to that effect on a finished pack is the brand's responsibility under its own market's rules, and Thovek supplies the ingredient to specification without making a finished-product claim. Lots are released against HPLC assay at 343 nm, melting point, loss on drying, sulphated ash, ICP-MS heavy metals, residual solvents to ICH Q3C and full microbiology. The material is vegan, with no milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, gluten, peanut, tree nut or sesame input and no animal-derived processing aid, and is neither irradiated nor GMO-derived. Piperine isomerises on prolonged light exposure, so it is packed in opaque aluminium-laminate and should be stored closed and dark. Note the customs point below: at 95% assay this is a chapter 29 alkaloid, not a chapter 13 plant extract, and the spreadsheet code is wrong.