Areca nut

Last edited 12/2021 and last reviewed 01/2022

Areca nut is the seed Areca catechu, and it grows in much of the tropical Pacific, Asia and parts of East Africa

• also called as betel nut and is often chewed wrapped inside betel leaves (paan) or with tobacco (betel quid), the composition of which varies in different populations and countries
  • not only known by several, sometimes local names, but also consumed in several forms, for example, pan masala, gutkha, mawa, dohra, kharra, betel and so on with or without tobacco
    
    
• is one of the most widely consumed addictive substances in the world after nicotine, ethanol and caffeine, and is consumed by approximately 10% of the world's population. Many reports suggest that chewing areca nut starts at a young age, and it is being consumed freely by children (1)
  
  
• the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified area nut consumption with or without tobacco as carcinogenic to humans (2)
  • linked to cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, liver and billary tracts and the uterus

Reference:

• Garg A, Chaturvedi P, Gupta PC. A review of the systemic adverse effects of areca nut or betel nut. Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol. 2014;35(1):3-9. doi:10.4103/0971-5851.133702
• Singh PK, Yadav A, Singh L, et al. Areca nut consumption with and without tobacco among the adult population: a nationally representative study from India. BMJ Open. 2021;11(6):e043987. Published 2021 Jun 15. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043987