Piper betel

The nut of a palm tree is chewed by millions is Asia and elsewhere with the leaves of Piper betel to produce mild stimulatory effects. Arecolin and arecaidinen are among the active constituents, but they... 

Palmae) [seed], Piper betel (betel pepper)... 

Ethyl dihydrocinnamate Illicium anisatum (Illiciaceae), Agastache spp., Ocimum basilicum (Lamiaceae), Magnolia kobus (Magnoliaceae), Myrcia acris (Myrtaceae), Firms sp. (Pinaceae), Piper betel (Piperaceae), Citrus spp., Dictamnus alba (Rutaceae) [oil] Vitis vinifera (Vitaceae) (wine) OD-R (flowery)... 

Seed of the tropical palm Areca catechu. Betel nuts may be chewed solely, but also in combination with lime and betel leaves (Piper betel). The betel leaves, which contain phenols, probably produce synergistic effects in combination with betel nuts. Lime (Ca(OH)2) quickens the absorption of the main psycho-active ingredients, areco-line qv and structurally related alkaloids. The practice of betel-chewing is widespread throughout Asia and dates from over 7000 years ago. 8-10 g of pulverized nut may be lethal. 

Occurs in many biological systems, including Hibiscus flowers. Piper betel leaves and Japanese bi tles. Spar, sol. hot Et20. Mp 75 . Bp 490 , Bpm 311 . 

Leaves from a creeping plant (Piper betel which are chewed in some parts of the world for a stimulating effect. (Also see BETEL NUTS.)... 

Nuts have many uses, both industrial and domestic. For instance, the ivory nut, or tagua, is a source material for the manufacture of buttons and turnery articles. The kola nut supplies ingredients for popular cola beverages in the United States (see Carbonated beverages). StTychnos nux-vomica provides the important medicine and poison, strychnine. The areca or betel nut is chewed by the Indian and Malayan people as a narcotic a slice of the nut is placed in a leaf of the pepper plant Piper betle) together with a pinch of lime the mixture is an acrid, astringent narcotic that dyes the mouth red, blackens and destroys the teeth. The areca nut contains, among other alkaloids, arecoline, an active anthelminthic widely used in veterinary practice for the treatment of tapeworm infections. 

Betel oil is distilled from the leaves, either fresh or dried, of Piper belle (ClhavKii betU Miq.). The vield is from 5 lo 1 per oeiil., but il the leaves are bleached by being kept io a warm shady place, the yield may reach 4 per cent. The oil varies considerably in characters ac-cordiDfr to the nature of the raw material, and the lollowing lesults have been oblaioeil by various Invealigatora. —... 

The areca nut is sometimes erroneously referred to as the betel nut (Trivedy et al. 1999). Betel refers to a combined preparation of the areca nut (Areca catechu) and lime (calcium hydroxide), rolled into the leaf of the betel pepper (Piper betle) (Morton 1998). 

The nut is often eaten wrapped in a leaf from the betel pepper tree (Piper be tie), together with a piece of limestone the presence of this bicarbonate-releasing stone increases the pH in... 

Areca nuts (betel nuts) are the seeds of Areca catechu (Palmae/Arecaceae), a tall palm cultivated in the Indian and Asian continents. These nuts are mixed with lime, wrapped in leaves of the betel pepper (Piper betle) and then chewed for their stimulant effect, and subsequent feeling of well-being and mild intoxication. The teeth and saliva of chewers stain bright red. The major stimulant alkaloid is arecoline (up to 0.2%) (Figure 6.36), the remainder of the alkaloid content (total about 0.45%) being composed of related reduced pyridine... 

Usage It is wrapped in the leaf of the betel pepper ( Piper chavica betel ) and sprinkled with burnt lime, catechu gum from the Malayan acacia tree ( Acacia catechu ) and nutmeg, cardamom or other species. This morsel is placed in the mouth and sucked on for several hours. 

Many of the world s population (more than 200 million people worldwide) chew betel nut quid, a combination of areca nut, betel pepper leaf (from Piper betle), hme paste, and tobacco leaf. The major alkaloid of the areca nut, arecoline, can produce chohnergic adverse effects (such as bronchoconstriction) (1) as well as antagonism of anticholinergic agents (2). The lime in the betel quid causes hydrolysis of arecohne to arecaidine, a central nervous system stimulant, which accounts, together with the essential oil of the betel pepper, for the euphoric effects of chewing betel quid. 

Betel Leaf Oil (Piper betle L) There s a lot of different betel species in the tropics. The oil from the Philippines has 2.38% allylpyrocatechol [11]. 

Of the several hundred species that comprise the genus Piper, about ten yield food or medicinal drugs useful to humans. They include pepper (P, nigrum L.), the commonly used spice betel (P. betle L.), indigenous to India and Southeast Asia and whose leaves are used with areca nut as masticatories the long peppers (P, officinarum C. DC. and P, longum L.), distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and used as spices and, of course, P, methysticum. 

Betel. Dried leaves of Piper betle L.. Piperaceae. Habit. India, Ceylon. Malay Archipelago. Const . 0.2-1% volatile oil, chavibetol. chavicol, cadinene. allylpyrocatechol. Re/- Ueda. Sasaki, J. Pharm, Soc. Japan 71, 559 (1951), C.A. 45, 9137 (1951). 

The areca nut or betel nut is the fruit of Areca catechu L., a palm tree of the far East. The nut is consumed in large quantities by the natives. Adams (74) describes a limestone quarry at Getembe, near Kandy, Ceylon, from which the quarried stone is burnt and the resulting quicklime when slaked is all sold to the Singhalese to mix with ground areca nuts. The mixture is wrapped in betel leaves Piper belle L.) and chewed by the natives. 

Betel nut quids consist of areca nut Areca catechu) wrapped in betel vine leaf Piper betle) and smeared with a paste of burnt (slaked) lime. It is chewed for the euphoric effects of the major constituent, arecoline, a cholinergic alkaloid, which appears to be absorbed through the mucous membrane of the mouth. Arecoline has identical properties to pilocarpine and normally has only mild systemic cholinergic properties however asthmatic subjects seem to be particularly sensitive to the bronchocon-strictor effects of this alkaloid and possibly other substances contained in the nut. 

Areca catechu (Arecaceae) is an evergreen tree from the Malay Peninsula, and it is widely cultivated in the tropical zone. The dried matured seed of A. catechu is known in Japan as Binro-ji and used for diuresis, as a purgative, and as an anti-parasitic in Kampo medicine. This substance was used as a teniacide in Europe in the nineteenth century. In Southeast Asia, there is a widespread custom to chew the mixture of the chopped seed of A. catechu, lime, and Gambir wrapped with betel (the leaf of Piper hetle (Piperaceae)) as a favorite food and stimulant. When the material is chewed, the inside of the mouth becomes vivid red. 

Areca catechu (Arecaceae, betel nut) is the world s most commonly used masticatory. This palm seed is used in conjunction with Piper betle leaves, Acacia catechu bark, lime, and other accompaniments (Gowda, 1951) by perhaps 1 billion of the world s inhabitants daily. Arecoline (52) is the most commonly studied alkaloid of Areca catechu seeds. This alkaloid has muscarinic action (mimics acetylcholine and binds to acetylcholine receptors) (Wink, 1993). Low doses produce vasodilation and a fall in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Arecoline exerts stimulatory effects on the gastrointestinal tract and enhances diaphoresis. Arecoline has an LD50 s.c. of 100 mg/kg in mouse. This alkaloid is a feeding deterrent to certain insects (Wink, 1993). 

Arecoline, a constituent of the fruits of Areca catechu (betel nuts), is probably built from nicotinic acid. Pieces of betel nuts mixed with lime and further ingredients and enveloped in leaves of Piper betle are chewed in South-East Asia as a stimulant. The physiologically active component is arecaidine, formed from arecoline by hydrolysis (F 3). 

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