BETEL-QUID AND ARECA-NUT CHEWING - IARC Monographs

BETEL-QUID AND ARECA-NUT CHEWING 43
Table 2. Constituents of betel quid
Constituent Origin/preparation
Areca nut Unripe/ripe
Whole/sliced
Raw/roasted/sun dried
Boiled/soaked in water
Fermented (under mud)
Piper betle L. Fresh leaf
Inflorescence
Stem
Slaked lime From coral
From shell fish
From quarried lime stone
Tobacco Sun dried
Fermented
Boiled with molasses
Perfumed
Concentrated extract (kiwam)
Catechu (extracted from) • Heartwood of Acacia catechu or A. suma
• Leaves of Uncaria gambier
• Bark of Lithocarpus polystachya (nang ko)
Spices Cloves
Cardamom
Aniseed (± sugar coat)
Sweeteners Coconut
Dried dates
Essences Rose essence
Menthol
Mint
Rose petals
Updated from Gupta & Warnakulasuriya (2002)
tion (FAO), are listed in Table 3. The FAO has estimated that world production of areca nut
is increasing (FAO, 2003). In most South Asian countries where information is available,
the production of areca nut has increased several fold over the past four decades. In India,
production of the nut has risen nearly threefold and may reflect the commercialization of
areca products since the early 1980s. Notably, Bangladesh is a significant contributor to the
agricultural base of areca-nut production, but its use by the Bangladeshi population is not
well documented (see Section 1.3.3).
There are several palms under the genus Areca that are native to South and South-East
Asia and the Pacific islands. An annotated list of the Areca species according to their geo-