Areca nut
The palm is originally native to the Philippines,[1][2] but was carried widely through the tropics by the Austronesian migrations and trade since at least 1500 BCE due to its use in betel nut chewing.
The practice of betel nut chewing, often together with other herbs as a stimulant drug, dates back thousands of years, and continues to the present day in many countries.
Betel nut chewing is addictive due to the presence of the stimulant arecoline, and causes adverse health effects, mainly oral and esophageal cancers, and cardiovascular disease.
[6] Usually for chewing, a few slices of the nut are wrapped in a betel leaf along with calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) and may include clove, cardamom, catechu resin (kattha), or other spices for extra flavouring.
[citation needed] In parts of India, Sri Lanka, and southern China, areca nuts are not only chewed along with betel leaf, but are also used in the preparation of Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicines.
[8] Other traditional uses include the removal of tapeworms and other intestinal parasites by swallowing a few teaspoons of powdered areca nut, drunk as a decoction, or by taking tablets containing the extracted alkaloids.
[19][20][21] Betel quid affects almost all parts of the human body, including the brain, heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tract and reproductive organs.
It can cause myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, liver damage, asthma, type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, hypothyroidism, prostate hyperplasia and infertility.
Kili, a mixture of areca nut, betel, cloves, cardamom and sugar is sold in small home-made paper pouches.
[citation needed] In the northern Philippines, particularly the Cordillera Administrative Region, betel nut chewing remains prominent to the point that restrictions and fines have been established in urban areas such as Baguio City in the Benguet province.
These restrictions were made under the idea that momma or moma (betel nut) chewing and spitting are improper during public transportation drivers' work hours and are considered stains to the city roads and sidewalks.
[25] In Papua New Guinea (PNG), betel nuts are referred to in Tok Pisin as buai, and grow abundantly on the northern coast, in Wewak and Madang.
[42] On Manus Island, young men are exposed to piracy when they use small boats to travel to the northern coast to purchase betel nuts to trade, and several have disappeared.
The latter is usually elevated one meter above the street, and measures less than 3 by 2 m. Large picture windows comprise two or more of the walls, allowing those who pass by a complete view of the interior.
Shops are often identified by colorful (commonly green) LED lamps or neon lights that frame the windows or that are arranged radially above a store.
[47] In Hainan and Hunan Province, China, where Xiangtan is a center of use and processing,[48] a wide range of old and young people consume areca nut daily.
[citation needed] In the United States, areca nut is not a controlled or specially taxed substance and may be found in some Asian grocery stores.
[52] The oldest unequivocal evidence of betel chewing is from the Philippines, specifically that of several individuals found in a burial pit in the Duyong Cave site of Palawan island dated to around 2680±250 BCE.
Considered an auspicious ingredient in Hinduism and some schools of Buddhism, the areca nut is still used along with betel leaf in religious ceremonies, and also while honoring individuals in much of southern Asia.
[54] In Assam, as well as most of its neighbouring Northeastern states, Areca Nut is preferably consumed in its fermented form, which is supposed to make the fruit harder and sweeter.
It is a tradition to offer pan-tamul (betel leaves and raw areca nut) to guests immediately upon arrival, and after tea or meals, served in a brass plate with stands called bota.
[citation needed] Spanish mariner Álvaro de Mendaña reported observing Solomon Islanders chewing the nut and the leaf with caustic lime, and the manner in which the habit stained their mouths red.
He noted the friendly and genial chief Malope, on Santa Isabel Island, would offer him the combination as a token of friendship every time they met.
This form is eaten in the lower regions of Bhutan and in North Bengal, where the nut is cut into half and put into a local paan leaf with a generous amount of lime.
[citation needed] Traditionally, this fragrant nut is cut in half and placed on top of a cone made of local betel leaf, which has a dash of lime put into it.
"Myth has it that the inhabitants of Bhutan traditionally known as Monyul, the land of Monpas where Buddhism did not reach lived on raw flesh, drank blood, and chewed bones.
After the arrival of Guru Rinpoche in the eighth century, he stopped the people from eating flesh and drinking blood and created a substitute which is betel leaf, lime and areca nut.
[58] Places such as Guwahati in India, Penang in Malaysia, Ko Mak (เกาะหมาก) in Thailand, Fua Mulaku in Maldives and Binlang Islet in Taiwan have been named after the areca nut.
