BETEL PALM
Betel nuts are the fruit of the betel palm. They are not a true nut, but rather the seed of a fruit categorized as a berry. The “nuts” are about the size and shape of olives or hen’s eggs and are yellowish to scarlet with a fibrous covering. They grow in clusters of 200 to 300 and hang in bunches under the palm canopy at the top of betel nut palm trees. Betel nuts are harvested when the fruits are ripe. When the nut is washed free of pulp it is about the size of an acorn. Most people who collect their own nuts do so by picking them from the tree or knocking them with a stick.
The areca nut palm (Areca catechu) grows in much of the tropical Pacific (Melanesia and Micronesia), South and Southeast Asia, and parts of east Africa like in Kenya. Indigenous to Indonesia, the species arrived in India sometime in the 4th century and has been a mainstay there ever since. [Source: Wikipedia]
The betel nut palm is very tall and slender. It can grow up to 30 meters (100 feet) tall with a trunk only six inches in diameter. It is topped by a crown of three, six-foot-long leaved divided into many leaflets. An adult tree can produce 250 nuts a year. In the Pacific, the betel nut palm does not grown on the coral atolls and residents of these islands are totally dependent on large islands for their betel nut supply.
Farmers like betel nut palms because they are easy to grow and maintain and require relatively little fertilizer. The trees bear fruit after five years and nuts are quite valuable. A farmer can earn about 16 times more growing betel than rice.
Zumbroich wrote: A.catechu L. is part of a genus of forty-eight species of understory palms and thrives in humid tropical forests at low to medium elevations. Unlike some other members of its genus, A.catechu L. is quite adaptable. It readily self-seeds and is tolerant of open conditions. As is the case with other cultigens, including a number of palms such as the coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) or sugar palm (Arenga pinnata (Wurmb.) Merril), the origin of A. catechu L. is unclear. Other Areca species are widespread from India along the Sunda shelf crossing Wallace’s line to Papua New Guinea. Speculations on the center of origin for A. catechu L. have ranged from the Andamans to Western Malaysia and Java to the Philippines. Amongst the various hypotheses, the one with relatively the strongest support is Beccari’s, who argued that A. catechu L. speciated in the Philippines. [Source: Thomas J.Zumbroich, “The origin and diffusion of betel chewing: a synthesis of evidence from South Asia, Southeast Asia and beyond,” Journal of Indian Medicine, 2008]
See Separate Articles:
BETEL NUT (ARECA NUT): HISTORY, USE AND BUZZ factsanddetails.com
BETEL NUT IN INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA factsanddetails.com;
BETEL NUT IN TAIWAN: BEAUTIES, CULTURE AND CANCER factsanddetails.com;
BETEL NUT AND SNUFF IN CHINA factsanddetails.com;
BETEL NUT AND SMOKING IN SMOKING VIETNAM factsanddetails.com
Betel Nut Agriculture
The areca nut palm grows best in warm, humid tropical regions, particularly within about 400 kilometers (250 miles) of the coast and at elevations below 1,000 meters (3,300 feet). Although it can be grown at higher elevations, yields are generally lower. It thrives in temperatures between 14°C and 36°C (57°F and 97°F), but it is also cultivated in parts of Kerala and West Bengal where temperatures range from 4°C to 40°C (39°F to 104°F). [Source: Wikipedia]
The crop requires abundant, well-distributed rainfall of more than 2,250 millimeters (89 inches) annually. In well-drained soils, it can tolerate up to 4,000 millimeters (160 inches) of rainfall. In drier regions, such as parts of Tamil Nadu that receive about 750 millimeters (30 inches) of rain each year, irrigation is necessary. Drying harvested fruits or processed nuts requires 7 to 45 days of sunshine, depending on the processing method.
Areca palms grow best in deep, well-drained clay loam soils. Laterite, red loam, and alluvial soils are also well suited for cultivation. High yields require regular applications of organic manure and chemical fertilizers.
Areca palms begin producing fruit about 4 to 8 years after planting. They commonly live for about 60 years, although some trees survive for as long as 100 years. The flowers are small, creamy white, strongly scented, and are pollinated primarily by wind. The fruits take about 8 months to mature and grow in clusters that are harvested by hand.
Major diseases affecting areca palms include bud rot, fruit rot (mahali), and yellow leaf disease. These are commonly managed with chemical treatments. Regular irrigation, typically once a week where rainfall is insufficient, and good drainage throughout the year are essential for healthy growth. Water is commonly supplied from rivers or wells using pumps.
Betel Nut and Medicine
In addition to its use as a stimulant the areca nut — and other parts of the areca palm — has traditionally been used in a variety of medicinal purposes, most significantly for intestinal ailments and to get rid of worms. According to traditional Chinese medicine, betel nut aids digestion, removes plaque and expels worms. Chinese who eat just the preserved husk do so to deter the fruit’s carcinogenic effects, according to recent studies but local dentists and doctors denounce the practice, saying it can cause other mouth diseases.
In parts of India and Sri Lanka, areca nuts are used in the preparation of Ayurvedic medicines. Powdered areca nut is a component of dentifrices and drinks use to get rid of tapeworms and other intestinal parasites. The drinks often have a few teaspoons of powdered areca nut. There are also decoctions (concentrated liquors made from heating or boiling the nut or plant parts) and tablets containing the extracted alkaloids. [Source: Wikipedia]
Betel nut is used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat headaches, stomach pains, venereal diseases, fever, rheumatism and other ailments. Some chewing areca nut and betel leaf is a good remedy against bad breath. In the 1830s, the diplomat Edmund Roberts noted that Chinese people mix areca nut with Uncaria gambir (a plant used in tanning and betel nut chewing) during his visit to China.
Betel Nut Spitting and Red Lips
Betel nut makes the saliva red. Regular usage stains the mouth, teeth and gums red. Long terms users have damaged and blackened teeth and damaged soft tissues in the mouth. The red juice that users spit is quite unsightly and places with many betel nut chewers often have sign forbidding the nut. The red splotches on the ground and pavement are such an eyesore that betel use is outlawed. Watching somebody spit out the red juice is not a pleasant sight either.
When I arrived at the airport in Yap, Micronesia, one of my first sights was a group of topless elderly women with red-stained lips chewing betel nut. There the floor was painted red so the betel nut splotches didn’t stand out.
Brigette and Robert wrote on their blog “Brigette and Robert on Tour”: “Spitting – A National Phenomenon. We have to admit that it took us a while to get used to the look of people’s faces, especially men’s faces. Most Myanmari men have quite ugly looking red lips and discolored teeth. While you talk to them they always chew something and suddenly they start spitting out red saliva right next to you. You can see red spit on the streets literally everywhere. Let’s face it: it looks disgusting, but you get used to it. Different cultures, different habits!.. Bus drivers spit their red saliva in transparent plastic bags while driving… we often had a seat in the very front – just envision this delicious sight and the wonderful noise when you try to fall asleep on a 15 hours bus ride?! [Source: Brigette and Robert on Tour, Blog]
Betel Nut Health Issues
The active ingredient in betel nut — the a volatile oil arecoline — is released from the nut by saliva and lime. Studies of the drug have shown that it improves learning and memory and counteracts intestinal parasites. Mostly betel nut is considered a health hazard — linked with throat, mouth and esophageal cancers and other ailments such as chronic kidney disease in men and milk-alkali syndrome.
Ananya Bhattacharya wrote in Quartz: “Betel nut addiction is spawning a major health crisis. Not only has it been classified as a group 1 carcinogen, chewing it, with or without tobacco, is also shown to damage vital organs to cause liver cirrhosis, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other serious ailments. The US food and drug authority has listed it among poisonous plants; Australia considers it a prescription-only medicine, illegal to possess or sell without permission. The habit is also a “hidden gateway” to tobacco use among the youth. More than 45% of school-going kids in rural India have developed the habit, with the likelihood increasing among government school students.” Quartz photographed one 62-year-old manwho used to consume gutka, at a New Delhi hospital after doctors lopped off parts of his jaw, gums, and teeth to stop the spread of cancer in his mouth, in August 2012. [Source: Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, January 18, 2022]
According to Garg et al. (2014): Areca nut affects almost all organs of the human body, including the brain, heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tract and reproductive organs. It causes or aggravates pre-existing conditions such as neuronal injury, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, hepatotoxicity, asthma, central obesity, type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, etc. Areca nut affects the endocrine system, leading to hypothyroidism, prostate hyperplasia and infertility. It affects the immune system leading to suppression of T-cell activity and decreased release of cytokines. It has harmful effects on the fetus when used during pregnancy.”
According to Medline Plus, Acute effects of betel chewing include asthma exacerbation, hypertension, and tachycardia. Other effects can include altered blood sugar levels, which may in turn increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes." Bloomberg reported: “A 2000 study of ethnic Indian users in London found that paan masala can be as addictive as cocaine, according to the British Medical Journal. Patients describe typical dependency symptoms, with difficulty in abstaining, withdrawal symptoms including headache and sweating, and need for a morning paan to relieve these symptoms,'' the 2002 Journal report said.[Source: Yu-huay Sun, Bloomberg, January 26, 2006, Wikipedia]
Research conducted by Loma Linda University in the United States of America and WHO’s Dr Daravuth Yel shows that betel nut quid (areca nut, betel leaf and tobacco) may make users more susceptible to such infectious diseases as HIV, tuberculosis, dengue and typhoid. The study, which analysed results of Cambodia’s national tobacco survey and was published in the International Journal of Infectious Disease, raises the possibility that tobacco control could be an important component in the control of infectious diseases. Compared to people who did not use betel quid, users were 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, 2.4 times more likely to have had dengue, 1.5 times more likely be diagnosed with tuberculosis and 1.48 times more likely to have had typhoid. [Source: Wikipedia]
Betel Nut and Cancer
According to Medline Plus, "Long-term use [of betel-areca preparations] has been associated with oral submucosal fibrosis (OSF), pre-cancerous oral lesions and squamous cell carcinoma. There may be a higher risk of cancers of the liver, mouth, esophagus, stomach, prostate, cervix, and lung with regular betel use.
Audrey Wang wrote in the Taiwan Review, “As early as in 1985, "WHO-affiliated International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) "found betel quid (the combination of betel nut and lime paste wrapped in betel leaf) to have carcinogenic properties, just like tobacco. And like tobacco, betel nut is seen to be habit-forming thanks to the presence of arecoline. Similar in structure to nicotine, arecoline is believed to be the source of betel nuts' stimulating effect. The IARC in 2004 further identified arecoline as a possible cause of oral submucous fibrosis, a precancerous condition. [Source: Audrey Wang, Taiwan Review, February 2008 ~]
The IARC lists the ingredients of the betel nut quid, with the exception of cardamom and cinnamon, as cancer-causing agents. According to to the BBC: “The slaked lime is seen as a particular problem as it causes hundreds of tiny abrasions to form in the mouth. This is thought to be a possible entry point for many of the cancer-causing chemicals. "About half of the men here still don't know that betel nuts can cause oral cancer," says Prof Hahn Liang-jiunn, an oral cancer specialist at the National Taiwan University Hospital. "[This is despite] Taiwan's incidence or mortality rates for oral cancer ranking among the top two or three in the world." [Source: Cindy Sui and Anna Lacey, BBC, March 22, 2015]
Various compounds in betel the nut, including nicotine-like arecoline, have been linked to degrading oral mucosa ( mucous membrane lining the inside of the mouth). As with chewing tobacco, its use is discouraged. Because betel nut is consumed by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, its use has been described as a "neglected global public health emergency". In 2003 the IARV found sufficient evidence to say that betel quid chewing causes cancer in humans, a conclusion confirmed at an IARC meeting in October 2009 with 30 scientists from 10 countries. [Source: Wikipedia]
World’s Top Areca Nut Producing, Exporting and Importing Countries
World’s Top Producers of Areca Nuts (2020): 1) India: 904729 tonnes; 2) Bangladesh: 328610 tonnes; 3) Myanmar: 203215 tonnes; 4) Indonesia: 132601 tonnes; 5) Taiwan: 98565 tonnes; 6) Sri Lanka: 63986 tonnes; 7) Thailand: 38204 tonnes; 8) Bhutan: 17446 tonnes; 9) Nepal: 8782 tonnes; 10) Kenya: 113 tonnes; 11) Maldives: 13 tonnes; 12) Malaysia: 2 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org. A tonne (or metric ton) is a metric unit of mass equivalent to 1,000 kilograms (kgs) or 2,204.6 pounds (lbs). A ton is an imperial unit of mass equivalent to 1,016.047 kg or 2,240 lbs.]
World’s Top Producers (in terms of value) of Areca Nuts (2019): 1) India: Int.$2478420,000 ; 2) Bangladesh: Int.$871202,000 ; 3) Indonesia: Int.$411099,000 ; 4) Myanmar: Int.$373177,000 ; 5) Taiwan: Int.$285436,000 ; 6) Sri Lanka: Int.$147564,000 ; 7) Thailand: Int.$110132,000 ; 8) Bhutan: Int.$44306,000 ; 9) Nepal: Int.$15245,000 ; 10) Malaysia: Int.$567,000 ; 11) Kenya: Int.$311,000 ; [An international dollar (Int.$) buys a comparable amount of goods in the cited country that a U.S. dollar would buy in the United States.]
World’s Top Exporters of Areca Nuts (2020): 1) Indonesia: 205200 tonnes; 2) Myanmar: 70080 tonnes; 3) Thailand: 48562 tonnes; 4) Singapore: 25499 tonnes; 5) Sri Lanka: 13711 tonnes; 6) Vietnam: 3251 tonnes; 7) India: 2519 tonnes; 8) Malaysia: 1630 tonnes; 9) United Arab Emirates: 1372 tonnes; 10) Hong Kong: 152 tonnes; 11) Taiwan: 98 tonnes; 12) Nigeria: 98 tonnes; 13) China: 82 tonnes; 14) Bangladesh: 22 tonnes; 15) Poland: 18 tonnes; 16) Pakistan: 9 tonnes; 17) South Africa: 7 tonnes; 18) United Kingdom: 7 tonnes; 19) Syria: 5 tonnes; 20) France: 4 tonnes.
World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Areca Nuts (2020): 1) Indonesia: US$256518,000; 2) Myanmar: US$111681,000; 3) Thailand: US$75023,000; 4) Sri Lanka: US$49530,000; 5) Singapore: US$30349,000; 6) India: US$10310,000; 7) Vietnam: US$7578,000; 8) United Arab Emirates: US$2438,000; 9) Malaysia: US$2308,000; 10) China: US$226,000; 11) Poland: US$209,000; 12) Hong Kong: US$202,000; 13) Taiwan: US$137,000; 14) Jordan: US$126,000; 15) Bangladesh: US$87,000; 16) Pakistan: US$49,000; 17) Syria: US$35,000; 18) United Kingdom: US$29,000; 19) Nigeria: US$21,000; 20) France: US$11,000
World’s Top Importers of Areca Nuts (2020): 1) Iran: 100844 tonnes; 2) Thailand: 26462 tonnes; 3) Singapore: 25848 tonnes; 4) India: 25485 tonnes; 5) Bangladesh: 18098 tonnes; 6) Afghanistan: 8936 tonnes; 7) China: 4054 tonnes; 8) Malaysia: 2221 tonnes; 9) Nepal: 2030 tonnes; 10) United Arab Emirates: 934 tonnes; 11) Maldives: 833 tonnes; 12) United States: 571 tonnes; 13) Poland: 550 tonnes; 14) Indonesia: 442 tonnes; 15) Hong Kong: 369 tonnes; 16) United Kingdom: 300 tonnes; 17) Saudi Arabia: 272 tonnes; 18) Vietnam: 215 tonnes; 19) Sri Lanka: 135 tonnes; 20) South Africa: 127 tonnes.
World’s Top Importers (in value terms) of Areca Nuts (2020): 1) Iran: US$137388,000; 2) India: US$75453,000; 3) Singapore: US$30708,000; 4) Bangladesh: US$30346,000; 5) Thailand: US$28534,000; 6) Afghanistan: US$12886,000; 7) Poland: US$6144,000; 8) China: US$4413,000; 9) Maldives: US$4217,000; 10) United States: US$3539,000; 11) Nepal: US$2758,000; 12) Malaysia: US$1970,000; 13) United Arab Emirates: US$1591,000; 14) Saudi Arabia: US$1454,000; 15) United Kingdom: US$902,000; 16) South Africa: US$751,000; 17) Vietnam: US$711,000; 18) Indonesia: US$511,000; 19) Sri Lanka: US$491,000; 20) Hong Kong: US$364,000
In the United States, areca nut is not a controlled or specially taxed substance and may be found in some Asian grocery stores. However, importation of areca nut in a form other than whole or carved kernels of nuts can be stopped at the discretion of U.S. Customs officers on the grounds of food, agricultural, or medicinal drug violations nut this rarely happens. [Source: Wikipedia]
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
Last updated April 2026