Piperine (Black Pepper Extract): half-life, strengths and approval status

What is piperine?

Piperine is the compound that makes black pepper hot. It is added to supplements, most often turmeric or curcumin, because it slows the liver and gut from breaking down some other compounds, which can raise how much reaches the blood.

Also known as: black pepper extract, Piper nigrum extract.

Amounts studied

The human studies below used 20 mg of piperine, as a single dose with curcumin (Shoba 1998) or once a day for 6 to 10 days before a drug (Kasibhatta 2007, Bedada 2017). A resveratrol study used 5 or 25 mg (Bailey 2021). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.

Approval status and how it is used

It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.

What studies show: in healthy volunteers given 2 g of curcumin, blood curcumin was undetectable or very low on its own; adding 20 mg of piperine raised it, with a reported 2,000% increase in bioavailability (Shoba 1998). The effect is not universal: adding 5 or 25 mg of piperine to 2.5 g of resveratrol did not meaningfully change resveratrol blood levels in 24 healthy people (Bailey 2021).

Drug interactions: the same effect can raise levels of prescription drugs. In 12 healthy volunteers, 20 mg of piperine a day for 10 days raised peak carbamazepine (an epilepsy drug) levels by 68.7% and total exposure by 47.9%; the authors advise caution with drugs broken down by the CYP3A4 enzyme (Bedada 2017). In 8 healthy men, 20 mg a day raised peak levels of the HIV drug nevirapine by about 120% and total exposure by about 170% (Kasibhatta 2007). Anyone taking a prescription drug, especially one with a narrow safe range, should ask a pharmacist before adding piperine.

Piperine half-life and time to peak

• Half-lifeNot listed
• Time to peak (Tmax)Not listed

We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for piperine that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. The studies below measured how piperine changes other compounds, not piperine itself.

How to track piperine in Dose Track

1. Add piperine as a custom compound. Start typing its name and Dose Track fills in the details from its research library for you to check, and it sits next to everything else you take.
2. Log each dose when you take it so your history shows exactly what you took and when.
3. Set reminders on your own schedule, whether that is daily, weekly or every few days.
4. Your log is stored on your phone and no account is needed. Data only leaves it for features you choose, like AI answers and lab reading.

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Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Shoba G, et al. Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin in animals and human volunteers. Planta Med. 1998;64(4):353-356.
2. Bedada SK, Appani R, Boga PK. Effect of piperine on the metabolism and pharmacokinetics of carbamazepine in healthy volunteers. Drug Res (Stuttg). 2017;67(1):46-51.
3. Kasibhatta R, Naidu MU. Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of nevirapine under fasting conditions: a randomised, crossover, placebo-controlled study. Drugs R D. 2007;8(6):383-391.
4. Bailey HH, et al. A randomized, double-blind, dose-ranging, pilot trial of piperine with resveratrol on the effects on serum levels of resveratrol. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2021;30(3):285-290.
5. FDA. Questions and answers on dietary supplements.

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