Black Pepper Essential Oil
Black pepper essential oil is the volatile oil obtained by steam distillation of the dried, crushed unripe berries of Piper nigrum, a perennial climbing vine of the Piperaceae family grown mainly in Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Brazil. The oil carries the aroma of pepper but none of its pungency, because piperine, the alkaloid responsible for the burn, is non volatile and stays behind in the spent berry.
Composition is dominated by monoterpene and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons: beta caryophyllene at 15 to 35 percent, limonene, sabinene, alpha and beta pinene, delta 3 carene and beta bisabolene. The result is a dry, fresh, woody spicy odour with a warm terpenic top, used in food to give the aroma of freshly ground pepper without the particulate specks or the heat that ground spice contributes.
It is a mobile, almost water thin liquid, colourless to pale greenish yellow, darkening slowly on storage. It is lighter than water, soluble in ethanol at 90 percent and above, in fixed oils and in propylene glycol, and insoluble in water. The high hydrocarbon content makes it prone to oxidation and to polymerisation into a resinous residue when exposed to air, heat or light, so it is stored cool in full, nitrogen blanketed containers.
We source bulk Black Pepper Essential Oil from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Henan. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Function
- Essential oil
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear mobile liquid, free of suspended matter |
| Colour | Colourless to pale greenish yellow |
| Odour and flavour | Fresh, dry, woody spicy, characteristic of black pepper |
| Beta caryophyllene | 15.0 to 35.0 percent |
| Limonene | 10.0 to 25.0 percent |
| Total monoterpene hydrocarbons | 50.0 to 80.0 percent |
| Specific gravity at 25 degrees Celsius | 0.864 to 0.884 |
| Refractive index at 20 degrees Celsius | 1.4790 to 1.4900 |
| Optical rotation at 20 degrees Celsius | minus 1 to minus 23 degrees |
| Solubility in 90 percent ethanol | Soluble in 3 volumes |
| Water content | Not more than 0.3 percent |
| Non volatile residue | Not more than 2.5 percent |
| Heavy metals as Pb | Not more than 10 mg/kg |
| Lead | Not more than 2 mg/kg |
Common Markets Grades
The main commercial grade is a straight steam distilled oil sold against a caryophyllene figure and the standard physical constants, conforming to the Food Chemicals Codex monograph and to the relevant ISO monograph for oil of black pepper. Oils are further differentiated by the geographical origin of the berry, since Indian, Indonesian and Vietnamese material differ measurably in the pinene to carene ratio and in the sesquiterpene tail.
Terpeneless and folded qualities are produced by vacuum fractionation to remove part of the monoterpene hydrocarbons, raising the aroma value per unit dose and improving solubility in dilute alcohol. Black pepper oleoresin is a separate, solvent extracted product that carries both the oil and the piperine and therefore both aroma and pungency; the two are frequently blended to a standardised heat and aroma. The oil is also sold as dilutions in propylene glycol or triacetin and as spray dried encapsulates on modified starch for dry seasoning blends.
Applications
- Meat processing and sausage seasoning, where it gives pepper aroma throughout the batter without visible specks
- Marinades, brines and injection systems, where a soluble oil disperses evenly whereas ground spice settles
- Snack and crisp seasoning blends, applied through an oil slurry or on an encapsulated carrier
- Soup, stock and gravy concentrates, added after cooking because the top note is lost on prolonged boiling
- Sauces, dressings and mayonnaise, where the oil avoids the sediment left by ground pepper
- Canned and retorted foods, where sterilisation would strip the aroma from whole spice
- Savoury flavour compounds as the peppery top of steak, barbecue and pastrami profiles
- Alcoholic beverages, notably gin and spiced spirit botanical blends
- Fragrance compounding in fougere, chypre and masculine accords for a dry spicy lift
- Blending with black pepper oleoresin to build seasonings standardised on both aroma and pungency
Brands Using Black Pepper Essential Oil
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Black Pepper Essential Oil on the ingredient label.
- Eden's GardenBlack Pepper Essential Oil ↗Single note bottle of black pepper essential oil steam distilled from the partially dried unripe fruit of Piper nigrum.Label verified 2026-08-31
- doTERRABlack Pepper Essential Oil 5 mL ↗Black pepper essential oil from Piper nigrum sold as a 5 mL single oil, described as rich in monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes including beta-caryophyllene.Label verified 2026-08-31
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Black Pepper Essential Oil
Top Black Pepper Essential Oil manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States, the generally recognised as safe listing of essential oils, oleoresins and natural extractives in 21 CFR 182.20 covers black pepper oil, and 21 CFR 182.10 lists black pepper itself among the GRAS spices. The oil carries Flavour and Extract Manufacturers Association GRAS status as a flavouring substance and is the subject of a Food Chemicals Codex monograph setting identity and purity limits.
In the European Union it is a natural flavouring preparation obtained from a food source, and Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 permits it without individual authorisation, subject to the general safety requirements of that Regulation. Where the oil is used in cosmetic products, limonene and linalool present in it are declarable fragrance allergens under the cosmetic products Regulation. The Joint FAO WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has evaluated the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon flavouring groups that make up the oil and raised no safety concern at the levels at which they are used as flavourings.
Manufacturing Process
Dried black peppercorns are cleaned to remove stalk, dust and stones, then coarsely crushed or flaked immediately before distillation, since grinding too far in advance loses volatile oil and generates heat. The crushed berry is charged into a stainless steel still and distilled with direct or indirect steam for four to twelve hours; longer runs raise yield but pull increasing amounts of the heavy sesquiterpene fraction into the oil and coarsen the top note.
Vapour is condensed and the condensate flows to a Florentine separator where the oil, being lighter than water, is drawn from the upper layer. The distillation water is cohobated back to the still to recover the dissolved oxygenated constituents. Crude oil is dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate or by vacuum stripping, polish filtered and, for grades that call for it, redistilled under vacuum to lift colour or to remove monoterpenes in the production of terpeneless qualities. Finished oil is analysed by gas chromatography, standardised where blends of origin are used, and filled under nitrogen into lined drums or aluminium containers.
