Synonym: Cubeba clusii; Piper clusii; Piper famechonii; Piper laurentii; Piper leonense.
English: Uziza pepper; Ashanti pepper; Benin pepper; Guinea pepper; False cubeb: Guinea cubeb.
Names: Uziza; Kale; Kukauabe; Masoro; Sasema; Soro wisa.
Content: dillapiol, piperine, elemicine, myristicine, safrole; flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, essential oils, tannins, saponins, peptides, phenols; essential oils.
Region: West Africa, Senegal to southern Sudan, south to DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania.
Use: medicinal; insecticidal; culinary, dietary, fruits dried as a spice, milder
Piper nigrum, flavouring soups, rice, foods; chewed with
Areca catechu as a substitute for
Piper betle; ash as a salt substitute; roots as chew sticks for cleaning the teeth; aphrodisiac.
Taxonomy: closely related to long pepper, cubeb pepper and black pepper.
Botany: evergreen climbing shrub, supports itself by means of adventitious root; woody stems from 4 - 20 metres tall; habitat evergreen rain-forest, forest edges, wet places, gallery forest, along rocky rivers; 750 - 1650 metres; dioecious.
LiteratureAnyanwu C. U. and Nwosu G. C. (2014), Assessment of the antimicrobial activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of
Piper guineense leaves, Journal of Medicinal Plant
Research, Vol. 8(10), pp. 337-439.
Ashok K. and Upadhyaya K. (2012), Tannins are Astringent, Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phyto‐ chemistry, IC Journal, Issue 3, Vol. 1, p.49.
Dada A. A., Ifesan B. O. T. and Fashakin J. F. (2013), Antimicrobial And Antioxidant Properties Of Selected Local Spices Used In “Kunun” Beverage In Nigeria, Acta Sci. Pol., Technol. Alignment, issue 12, vol. 4, p.374.
Kareem K. T., Kareem S. O., Adeyemo O. J. and Egberongbe R. K. (2010), In vitro antimicrobial properties of
Bridelia ferruginea on some clinical isolates, Agric. Biol. Journal of North America, issue 1, vol. 3, pp. 418-419.
Mamta Saxena M., Saxena J., Nema R., Singh D. and Gupta A. (2013), Phytochemistry of Medicinal
Plants, Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Vol. 1, Issue 6, p.177.
Nwachukwu C. U., Ume N. C., Obasi M. N., Nzewuihe G. U. and Onyirioha C. (2010), The Qualita‐ tive Uses Of Some Medicinal
Plants In Ikeduru L.G.A Of Imo State, Nigeria, New York
Science Journal, issue 3, vol.11, p.132.
Pal D. and Verma P. (2013), Flavonoids: A Powerful And Abundant Source Of Antioxidants, International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vol. 5, Issue 3, p.97.
Sumathykutty MA, Rao JM, Padmakumari KP, Narayanan CS (1999), Essential Oil Constituents Of Some Piper Species, Flavors Fragr. Journal, issue 14, pp. 280-281.
African Flowering
Plants Database; http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php; Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
Cornucopia II; Facciola. S.; Kampong Publications, California; 1998; ISBN; 0-9628087-2-5
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural
Plants; http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
The Useful
Plants of West Tropical Africa; Burkil. H. M.; Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew; 1985 - 2004.
Edible Wild
Plants of Tanzania; Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B.; Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi; 2002; ISBN 9966-896-60-0.