Botanical Name

Piper betle L.

Family

Piperaceae.

Synonyms

Artanthe hexagyna Miq., Betela mastica Raf., Chavica auriculata Miq.,Chavicabetle (L.) Miq.,Chavica chuvya Miq., Cubeba seriboa Miq., Piper rubroglandulosum Chaveer. & Mokkamul, Piperi betlum (L.)St.-Lag.

Regional Name

English : Betel Leaf, Hindi : Pan, Sanskrit : Tambuli, Urdu : Pan, Assamese : Pan, Bengali : Pan, Gujrati : Pan, Kannada : Veelyadele Ele, Malayalam : Vettila, Marathi : Pan, Nagvel, Vidyachepan, Punjabi : Pan, Tamil : Vettilai, Telgu : Tamalapaku, Tamulapaku.

Part Used

Leaf.

Description

Tambul is a dioecious, perennial creeper, climbing by many short adventitious rootlets, widely cultivated inhotter and damper parts of the country. Leaf varies greatly in size, 7.5-20.0 cm, ovate cordate, entire, glabrous, apexacuminate to acute, lamina membranous, upper surface deep green and lower surfacelighter in colour, primary or sub-primary nerves usually 7, sometimes 5-9; odour,aromatic; taste, stightly pungent.

Phytoconstituents

Tambul leaf contains - Essential Oil, Amino Acids, Vitamins and Enzymes. It is also contains cadinene, sesquiterpene, chavicol, geraniol, α-thujene, terpinolene, chavibetol, phenyl propane, trans β-ocimene, safrole, caryophyllene, cineole, cadinol, eugenol, camphene, limonene, pinene, and eugenyl acetate.

Ayurvedic Properties

Rasa : Katu, Tikta, Kasaya, Guna : Laghu, Sara, Tiksna, Vasada, Virya : Usna, Vipaka : Katu, Karma : Slesmahara, Balya, Rucya, Sramahara, Mukhadourgandhyahara, Mukhamalahara, Vata Hara, Raktapittakarni, Svaryam, Vrsya.

Ayurvedic Applications

Kandu, Hrllasa, Agnimandya, Jvara, Hrdroga,Svarabheda.

Medicinal Uses

It is used in the treatment of diabetes, excessive thirst, fever, loss of appetite, nasal inhalation, nausea, and worms. It is also used for enhancing metabolic functions, reducing inflammation, expelling mucus, strengthening the heart muscles, improving appetite, purifying blood, treating ulcer, nosebleed, acne, bronchitis, halitosis, bleeding gums, headache and reproductive problems.