Cubeb

Cubeb Oil

Botanical Name of Cubeb:  Piper cubeba

Synonyms: tailed pepper, Java pepper, kabāba, kumukus

About Cubeb: Cubeb is mostly cultivated in Indonesian Islands of Java and Sumatra and is best known for their fruit and essential Oil. The fruits of this plant a gathered before they are fully ripe and then dried. Cubeb in appearance looks very similar to that of black pepper but have a tail attached to them. The colour of dried cubeb is greyish brown and could range up to black. Its taste is very similar to allspice and can be considered to be a cross between allspice and black pepper.

History of Cubeb: There have been instances recorded in ancient history regarding the use of cubeb which are as old as 4^th century BC. There has been strong evidence that there was a trade between Java and Greeks of cubeb. In China this spice was routed through India and later called Chinese cubeb.

The ancient book ‘One Thousand and one nights’ which was written around 9^th century, recommends cubeb as a remedy for infertility as it also mentions that this was already been tried and tested by Arabs. In ancient China and Europe cubeb was considered to be repulsive for demons.

Properties of Cubeb Oil: The average volatile oil yield out of cubeb is estimated to be around 15%. This oil is pale green or bluish yellow in colour and has the following chemical composition: sabinene, alpha thujene, careen, caryophyllene, copanene, alpha & beta cubebene, germacrene, cineole, alcohol cubebol etc.

Health Benefits and Applications Cubeb Oil:

Cubeb Oil is known to have number of benefits, some of the important ones include:

Medicinal Usage of Cubeb Oil: The ancient medicines form prevalent in India have found and recommended use of cubeb oil in curing following alignments:

Dental diseases.

Loss of voice

Halitosis

Fever and cough

To enhance sexual pleasure

Modern day science also uses cubeb oil in curing throat related alignments and treating gonorrhoea.

Culinary Usage: In Europe this is considered to be a very important spice and used for seasoning meat. It is also used in number of sauces. Morocco cuisine in northern Africa also makes use of cubeb in savoury dishes and pastries. People in Indonesia are also known to use cubeb in number of preparations.

Cigarettes – There are many cigarette brands available which have cubeb in them. Cubeb cigarettes are also known give relief from asthama, chronic phryngitis and hay fever

Use of cubeb in spirits – Famous spirit brand ‘Bombay Sapphire’ is flavoured with cubeb. The brand has been very popular and has many loyal drinkers to it.

Other therapeutic properties of Cubeb oil make them useful in –anti ageing products, cooling and refreshing agents, chewing gums, toothpaste, confectionaries, etc.

Contact Us for more details on Cubeb Oil and your commercial requirements for it.