Traditional Uses

Traditional and Modern Applications

Other members of this family have been used as ‘natural medicines’ by indigenous peoples where they occur, and European use began in 1597 when Captain Winter, Commander of the Elizabeth, under Drake, used the bark of Drimys wintera to relieve scurvy amongst his crew. That species was used briefly in Europe as a herbal remedy until it became hard to obtain and was partly replaced by Tasmannia lanceolata, Drimys chilensis and False Winter's Bark (Cinnamomum corticosum from Jamaica and the West Indies).

In modern times, Tasmanian Native pepper is the most commonly used member of the family. It is an important ‘native food’ flavour – both the berries and the leaf, but is also used commercially as an ingredient in some health supplements for human and veterinary use, and to prepare flavour extracts.

Current and recent research:

nutritional and health-beneficial properties of leaf and berries,
>flavour profiles of leaf and berries,
shelf life and improved storage technologies
natural clonal diversity and extract composition
history of use of the pepper and its recognition by FSANZ as a traditional food,
Tasmanian pepper in preservative marinades and dressings,
Growth habits and production systems