Areca Nut

The areca nut is the seed of the areca palm, Areca catechu, technically the seed of a berry-like fruit rather than a true nut. It originated in the Philippines and spread through the tropical Pacific, South Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of East Africa via Austronesian migration and trade routes dating back to at least 1500 BCE. It is most often consumed sliced and wrapped in betel leaves with slaked lime and sometimes clove or cardamom, a preparation called a betel quid or paan, which stains the teeth and mouth red; about 600 million people use it regularly, with India the largest consumer. Its own lead states stark health facts: the nut is addictive and is linked to oral and esophageal cancers, cardiovascular disease and reproductive complications, especially in combination with tobacco, and global production reached 2.3 million tonnes in 2023, 60 percent of it from India.