Refreshing fruit; Areca nut
You may have seen in some parts of India and in Indian subcontinent, where people are chewing ‘paan’ or ‘tamboola’, and often spit red coloured liquid from their mouth. Of course, chewing ‘tamboola, or Paan’ after the dinner is a common seen in many parts of India. Usually for chewing, a few slices of the nut are wrapped in a betel leaf along with slaked lime and may include clove, cardamom, catechu or other spices for extra flavouring.
Chewing the mixture of areca nut and
betel leaf is a tradition, custom, or ritual, and is a symbol of prestige in
many communities in India and in some parts of Indian subcontinent. It’s an
important as well as a popular cultural activity in many Asian and oceanic
countries, including India.
In Assam, offering ‘pan-tamul’
to guests, after tea or meals is a tradition, and they have a tradition of
inviting guests to wedding receptions by offering a few areca nuts with betel
leaves.
In Vietnam, the areca nut and the betel
leaf are important symbols of love and marriage, where tradition of chewing
areca nuts starts the talk between the groom's parents and the bride's parents
in the marriage ceremonies.
A sexual symbolism
became attached to the chewing of the nut and the leaf, where areca nut
represented the male principle, and the betel leaf the female principle. In
Hinduism and Buddhism, it’s an auspicious ingredient, and is used in religious
ceremonies, and also honouring individuals.
Tropical plant:
Botanically known as
Areca catechu, areca nut is a tropical plant found all over the South East Asia,
and is an important commercial crop of the region. This tree belongs to the
palm tree species and falls under Aceraceae family.
India
is the major producer and consumer of areca nut in the world, followed by
China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Myanmar. In India, it is grown in
Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Maharashtra, West Bengal and parts of Tripura.
In
Karnataka, Uttara Kannada, Chikka Magaluru, Shivamogga, Davanagere, Dakshina
Kannada, Tumakuru, and Chitradurga districts together contain 89%
of the area and account for 91% of areca nut produced in the State.
Annually more than
1.3 million tonnes of areca nuts are produced, and
the production in India is the largest in the world. India accounts for 54% of
its world output, and is exported to many countries. While
Myanmar, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Taiwan were contributing nearly 38%.
In India, areca nut
is cultivated in more than 2.64 lakh hectares, with Karnataka and Kerala
accounting for nearly 72% of the total production. Over 10 million people are
engaged in areca nut cultivation, processing and trade. More than 85 per cent
of the area under cultivation is made up of small and marginal holdings. India
is also the largest consumer of areca nut with around 3.2 lakh tonnes of areca
nut consumed here annually.
Chali
& Adike:
There
are mainly two types in processing of areca nut. The first one is, ‘chali’ which
is a ripe sun-dried nut. And the another one is red boiled type, called ‘adike’.
Apart from these two, other varieties like koka, white chali, red chali are
also processed.
Palm thrives well in
heavy rainfall area, and grows well in temperature climates within the range of
14-36 degree centigrade. The tree grows
approximately 30 meters in height and starts giving fruit from the 5th
to 7th year till up to an average lifespan of 60 years.
The fruits are harvested annually, dried and dehusked. The
harvested nuts have to be sun dried for 30-45 days.
In India, the use of areca nut has been noticed as early as 1,300 BC, and in other countries such as Vietnam, the antiquity of areca nut even goes back to Bronze Age. An archaeological evidence from Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines suggests they have been used in tandem for at least 4,000 years.
The term areca, originated from the Malayalam word ‘adaykka’, which means ‘cluster of nuts’, and dates from the 16th century, when Dutch and Portuguese sailors took the nut from Kerala to Europe. It probably originated in Malaysia or Philippines, and from this region, the crop travelled to the rest of Asia where it is cultivated as a cash crop.
Areca
nut has an important place in the ancient Indian system of medicine such as
Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy. It has also an importance in
traditional Chinese medicines.
- In India, areca nut and betel leaf are considered as
sacred and no ceremonial function is complete without them.
-
Chewing areca nut sweetens the breath,
removes bad taste from the mouth, causes warming sensation in
the body, and strengthens the gums and checks
perspiration. But, chewing areca nut along with tobacco, which is usually used
in ‘gutka’ is harmful to the health. And after
chewing a betel nut, the red residue is generally spit out, which is banned in
public places in many countries.
-
Areca nut is processed into pan-masala, gutka, ‘mama’
with zarda tobacco mix, scented supari and other similar products which are
getting more popular in India and in other countries.
-
‘Chogaru’, a by-product obtained from the
processing of tender nuts is rich in tannins, and is used for tanning leather,
dyeing clothes.
-
It could be used in the preparation of biscuits, soaps, tea, chocolates, rasam
powder, pickle, wine, herbal powder, cool drinks, syrup, gum, sweets, vinegar
and savouries and in place of vanaspati.
- Husk, which is the outer cover or
wrapper of the areca fruit is used as fuel in rural areas. It can also be used
as manure.
- In Indochina and Philippines, it is used
for herbal tooth brushes.
- Areca tree can be turned into usable furniture like chairs, table, sofa, and could be utilised for preparing hard boards, throwaway cups, plates, plyboards, tea chest, boxes, cushioned envelops, soft boards, pillow, beds, craft paper, ready-made toys, flowers, paper weight, garlands and decorative ornaments. It is also useful in preparing ladder, and many types of show case pieces.
- lime with nut chewing meets calcium deficiency
of Indian diet. Along with it, areca nut is an effective blood purifier. Its leaf
is used as areca collecting bags, like plates, bowls, fire wood, cap, rain
protector. Its flower is used for worship and decoration purposes.
- Recent
researches proved that it can be used in the manufacturing of super capacitor battery,
non-breakable glass, in pipes and as school boards. It can also be used as a
water purifier, and floor cleaner. Its usage is also beneficial as a catalyst.
- CFTRI
Mysore has developed a soft drink concentrate called Pan Supari Nectar.
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