Botanical Name

Areca catechu L.

Family

Arecaceae / Palmae.

Synonyms

Areca cathechu Burm.f., Areca faufel Gaertn., Areca himalayana Griff. ex H. Wendl., Areca hortensis Lour., Areca macrocarpa Becc., Areca nigra Giseke ex H.Wendl., Sublimia areca Comm. ex Mart.

Regional Name

English : Areca nut, Betle nut , Hindi : Supari, Chralia , Sanskrit : Kramuka, Ghona, Urdu : Fufal, Choalia , Punjabi : Supari, Spari , Assamese : Tamol, Tamul , Bengali : Supari , Gujrati : Sopari , Kannada : Adiks , Kashmiri : Supari, Spari , Malayalam : Adakku, Pakku , Marathi : Supari, Pophal , Oriya : Gua.

Part Used

Seed.

Description

Chikni Supari is a graceful, slender, stemmed, perennial palm, trunk reaching a height of about 25 m, cultivated in the coastal regions of India (Bengal and Assam), Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and other tropical and subtropical countries an altitude up to 1000 m. Fruits are single seeded berries with flesh and fibrous pericarp and a stony seed, 3.8-5 cm long, smooth, orange or scarlet when ripe. Fruits are ovoid, externally pale, reddish-brown to light yellowish-brown, marked with a net work of paler lines, frequently with adhering portions of silvery brittle endocarp and adhering fibres of mesocorp at base of seed.  Seed hard with ruminate endosperm of brownish tissue alternating with whitish tissue, odour, characteristic, taste, astringent.

Phytoconstituents

It contains catechin, tannins (15%), Gallic acid fat, gum and alkaloids like arecoline (0.07%), arecaine (1%). Arecaidine and guvacoline, guvacine and choline are present in trace amount.

Ayurvedic Properties

Rasa : Kasaya , Guna : Guru, Ruksa , Virya : Sita , Vipaka : Katu, Karma : Prabhava, Mohakrt, Dipana, Kaphapittajit, Kledansana, Malabhedi, ,Mukhsodhana, Vikasi

Ayurvedic Applications

Aruci, Mukhavikara, Yonisaithilya, Svetapradara

Medicinal Uses

It is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, low blood pressure, slow heart rate, and other intestinal troubles. It is very useful in woman’s physical weakness, facial paleness, Anaemia and back-ache, pain in shins, anxiety and uneasiness. It is also used for treatment of a mental disorder called  schizophrenia and an eye disorder called glaucoma; as a mild stimulant; and as a digestive aid.