HPLC-Based Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Alkaloids in Chewable Areca Products from Different Geographic Regions

BACKGROUND: Chewable areca products are popular in Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and China. The major alkaloids present in areca products are guvacine, arecaidine, guvacoline, and arecoline which cause carcinogenicity and addiction.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was the quantitative analysis of the alkaloid content of areca chewable products from different countries and regions using HPLC-UV, as well as the benefit of their safety evaluation products.

METHOD: An HPLC-UV method was established for qualitative and quantitative analyses of 65 batches of areca chewable products from different countries and regions. Additionally, similarity evaluation of chromatographic fingerprints was applied for data analysis.

RESULTS: These results reveal a significant variation in the levels of areca alkaloids among tested products, specifically guvacoline (0.060-1.216 mg/g), arecoline (0.376-3.592 mg/g), guvacine (0.028-1.184 mg/g), and arecaidine (0.184-1.291 mg/g). There were significant differences in the alkaloid content of areca chewable products from different producing areas.

CONCLUSIONS: The method will be useful in the safety evaluation of different areca chewable products.

HIGHLIGHTS: The established HPLC-UV method can be adopted for safety evaluation of areca chewable products from different countries and regions due to its general applicability.