- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- Asia (Southeast Asia), Oceania
- Sanskrit
- Pooga
- Other names
- Arecanoot
- Traditions
- Ayurveda, Chinese medical traditions, Jamu in Indonesia
Asia · Herb · № 419
Areca catechu
Herb · Asia
Areca nut
Areca catechu
Traditionally attributed effects: stimulating, astringent, expels tapeworm, laxative, carminative, aphrodisiac; against roundworms and tapeworms, strengthens the gums, for urinary complaints, heartburn during pregnancy, lumbago.
Safety notes
Betel nut is classified as carcinogenic by the WHO (IARC) and is addictive. Poisonous or risky: only under expert supervision. No dosage is given here on purpose. Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.
Cautions by tradition (2)
- Ayurvedic materia medica: Poisonous or risky: only under expert supervision. No dosage is given here on purpose.
- Chinese materia medica: Not with weakness from qi deficiency. The nut itself is addictive and carcinogenic when chewed.
Preparation
Poisonous or risky: only under expert supervision. No dosage is given here on purpose.
Use in traditions
Described in the Ayurvedic materia medica. Sanskrit name: Pooga. The areca nut is chewed with lime in a betel leaf (paan), an age-old custom from India to Papua New Guinea that produces red saliva. In Chinese medicine (bing lang) it is a vermifuge. The WHO classifies areca nut as carcinogenic to the mouth.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Ayurvedic materia medica
Attributed effects
Stimulating, astringent, expels tapeworm, laxative, carminative, aphrodisiac; against roundworms and tapeworms, strengthens the gums, for urinary complaints, heartburn during pregnancy, lumbago.
Preparation and amount
Traditionally used forms: tincture, powder, juice, oil, extract (partly external).
Caution: Poisonous or risky: only under expert supervision. No dosage is given here on purpose.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- pungent, warm
- Meridians
- spleen, stomach, large and small intestine
Attributed effects
The peel (da fu pi) makes the qi descend in food stagnation with belching and a bloated abdomen, and drains fluid in oedema, especially in the legs.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 3–9 g a day, usually in a decoction. The nut itself (bing lang) is pungent, bitter and warm (stomach, large intestine) and was used against tapeworm, together with pumpkin seeds, and in food stagnation with constipation and in oedema.
Combinations
- With tangerine peel and hou po for a bloated abdomen
- Nut with mu xiang, bitter orange and rhubarb for food stagnation
- Nut with tangerine peel and mu gua for oedema in the legs
Caution: Not with weakness from qi deficiency. The nut itself is addictive and carcinogenic when chewed.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- DecoctionTincturePowder and kitchen