Areca nut, commonly called as betel nut or supari, is a fruit of areca catechu palm tree, which is native of South Asia and Pacific Islands. The seed or endosperm is consumed fresh, boiled or after sun drying or curing. Chewing areca nut is thought to have central nervous system stimulating effect and along with this it is known to have salivary stimulating and digestive properties. According t...

INTRODUCTION Areca nut chewing has been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, but its association with erectile dysfunction (ED) has not been investigated. AIM To investigate the association between areca nut chewing and risk of ED. METHODS Consecutive men at public health centers for oral malignancy screening or health checkup were invited to complete a questionnaire. MAI...

Areca nut is one of the most widely used psychoactive substances with several hundred million users worldwide, predominantly in southern Asia. Areca nut can be chewed alone or in a variety of ways that differ by region. The habit of chewing betel quid, containing fresh, dried or cured areca nut, catechu, slaked lime and flavouring ingredients wrapped in betel leaf, is widespread in India, Pakis...

Mechanical properties of the fibers extracted from the areca are determined and compared with the other known natural fiber coir. Further these Areca fibers were chemically treated and the effect of this treatment on fiber strength is studied. Areca fiber composite laminates were prepared with randomly distributed fibers in Maize stalk fine fiber and Phenol Formaldehyde. Composite laminates wer...

The husk fibres of Areca catechu (areca nut) are reported to be used by the people of rural areas of Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka for cleaning their teeth. The beneficial effects of these plant materials are not scientifically proven, so the study was carried out to estimate the antimicrobial properties of A.catechu against common oral pathogens. These antimicrobial properties in addition to mec...

OBJECTIVE Areca (Betel Nut) is the fourth most commonly used psychoactive drug throughout the world and is legal in U.S. It is carcinogenic. Within a health program in the Federated States of Micronesia we surveyed use among adolescents. METHODS One hundred 7th and 8th graders in Yap and Pohnpei were surveyed and clinical oral examinations conducted. The questionnaire included items on Areca:...

Areca nut consumption has been implicated in the progression of Oral Submucous fibrosis (OSF); an inflammatory precancerous fibrotic condition. Our previous studies have demonstrated the activation of TGF-β signaling in epithelial cells by areca nut components and also propose a role for epithelial expressed TGF-β in the pathogenesis of OSF. Although the importance of epithelial cells in the ma...

BACKGROUND Areca nut is the seed of fruit oriental palm known as Areca catechu. Many adverse effects of nut chewing have been well documented in the medical literature. As these nuts are mixed with some other substances like tobacco and flavouring agents, it has been hypothesized that it might also cause some dependency symptoms among its users. Therefore, the objective of this study was to inv...

In this research work, impact strength of untreated, alkali treated, potassium permanganate treated, benzoyl chloride treated and acrylic acid treated areca fiber reinforced epoxy composites were studied under 40%, 50%, 60% and 70% fiber loadings. Impact strength increased with increase in fiber loading up to 60% and then showed a decline for all untreated and chemically treated areca fiber rei...

Areca-nut chewing occurs widely in South Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Here we present a case of neonatal withdrawal syndrome in an infant born to a woman who was a chronic areca-nut user. Arecoline, the principal neuroactive alkaloid in areca nuts, was found in the mother's placenta.