Areca nut: a review

Areca cattechu Linn is commonly known as areca nut or betel nut. It is a very widely cultivated plant in eastern countries like India, Bangladesh, Ceylon, Malaya, the Philippines and Japan. The importance of this nut is due to its use for chewing purposes. It had an important place as a pharmaceutical in Ayurveda--the ancient Indian system of medicine--also in the Chinese medicinal practices. The pharmaceutical importance of areca nut is due to the presence of an alkaloid, arecoline. Synthetic arecoline hydrobromide is also shown to possess numerous pharmacological properties. Chewing of "betel quid" or areca nut is a typical oriental habit. Betel quid comprises betel leaf, areca nut, catechu, lime and sometimes also tobacco. It is shown that there exists a correlationship between betel quid or areca nut chewing habit and oral cancer. A number of investigators have been able to produce cellular changes such as leukoplakia by application of betel quid or areca nut extract to the buccal mucosa of different animal.