Difference between revisions of "Areca catechu"

The fruit flesh on the seed has psychoactive properties (stimulating effects) and in South-east Asia is used as such by chewing on the fruit. It produces euphoria, heightened alertness, sweating, salivation, a hot sensation in the body and an increased capacity to work. The alkaloid arecoline found in the nut, accounts for these effects. However there may be undesirable side effects associated with chewing on the fruit such as an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, sweating and body temperature. Betel chewing also increases plasma concentrations of norepinephrine and epinephrine. The Betelnut is also used as an offering in Hinduism.

Areca catechu is grown for its commercially important seed crop, the areca nut. This palm is often erroneously called the betel tree because its fruit, the areca nut, is often chewed along with the betel leaf, a leaf from a vine of the Piperaceae family. The seed contains alkaloids such as arecaidine and arecoline, which, when chewed, are intoxicating and slightly addictive. grown primarily for their seeds, the seed also contains condensed tannins (procyanidins) called arecatannins. The areca palm is also used as an interior landscaping species. It is often used in large indoor areas such as malls and hotels. It will not fruit or reach full size. Indoors, it is a slow growing, low water, high light plant that is sensitive to spider mites and occasionally mealybugs. The areca nut is also popular for chewing throughout some Asian countries, such as Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippine, Malaysia, and India and the Pacific, notably Papua New Guinea, where it is very popular. Chewing areca nut is quite popular among working classes in Taiwan. The nut itself can be addictive and has direct link to mouth cancers. Areca nuts in Taiwan will usually contain artificial additives such as limestone powder. The extract of Areca catechu has been shown to have antidepressant properties in rodents, but it is known to be highly addictive.

Betel nut (Areca catechu) is chewed regularly by at least 10% of the world population, imported by immigrant users wherever they settle, and is the fourth most widely used addictive substance. It is thought, by users, to soothe the digestion and to be a stimulant and its use has a major role in social situations. Specific arecal alkaloids act as competitive inhibitors of GABA receptors and have widespread effects in the body, including actions on the brain, cardiovascular system, lungs, gut and pancreas. Nitrosated derivatives of arecal alkaloids, proven carcinogens inducing tumours throughout the upper gut and foregut derivatives in animals, are also associated with increased tumour risks in man. These nitrosated compounds are also diabetogenic in CD1 mice, producing a type 2 diabetes with obesity. Increased central obesity is found in association with betel usage in man as well as increases in circulating markers of inflammatory and cardiovascular damage. The effects of chronic betel usage in man are at least as diverse as those of smoking and the habit increases the risks of ill health.

"Apparently, most seeds from a dwarf Areca catechu will NOT produce dwarfs. I have talked a few times with Roy at H. Eunice Nursery in Hilo about this. My guess is that Roy has germinated more of these than most of us. And his experience is that the seeds from a dwarf will produce everything ranging from true dwarfs to the standard tall betel nut and everything in between. And you can't really tell what it will end up being until the plant is about 1 ft to 1.5 ft tall." (BGL)