Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Areca nut (Areca catechu), of the Arecaceae (Palmae) family. Tall, slender feather-palm; native range: Tropical Asia — Malesia and the Malay Peninsula; exact wild origin uncertain from long cultivation. Globally recognized as puga · kramuka in Sanskrit, supari in Hindi, bing lang (槟榔) in Chinese, fofal · faufal in Arabic, and betel nut in English. The part used is seed (the 'nut'); the pericarp (da fu pi) is used separately in Chinese practice. Hard, ovoid seed marbled brown and tan within; astringent and slightly bitter, puckering the mouth.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
BETEL NUT
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- areca nut
- Scientific name
- Areca catechu L.
- Family
- Arecaceae (Palmae)
Form
- Part used
- seed (the 'nut'); the pericarp (da fu pi) is used separately in Chinese practice
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter, pungent
- Ayurveda
- dominant: astringent (kashaya) · also: sweet (madhura)
- Western
- astringent, bitter
- Unani
- astringent
Temperature
- TCM
- warm
- Ayurveda
- cooling (shita)
- Unani
- cold & dry
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Stomach · Large Intestine
- Western
- intestines · bowels
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- kills parasites, promotes the movement of qi, reduces food stagnation and accumulation, promotes urination, drives out stagnant water
- Ayurveda
- kashaya-grahi (astringent, checks discharge), mukha-shodhana (cleanses the mouth), mildly digestive and mildly intoxicant
- Western
- anthelmintic (a taenifuge, chiefly veterinary), astringent, sialagogue
- Unani
- astringent (qabiz), tooth and gum tonic, digestive masticatory
Cautions
Contraindications: deficiency without accumulation; caution in pregnancy
Toxicity: arecoline is toxic in quantity (cholinergic — salivation, sweating, tremor); habitual betel-quid chewing is linked to oral submucous fibrosis and oral cancer
Interactions
- Western
- anticholinergics: arecoline is cholinergic and opposes their action
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.