A PHYTOPHARMACOLOGICAL REVIEW ON THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF ARECA CATECHU

Arecha catechu belongs to the palm family. It is commonly known as betel nut. Arecha catechu has capability of increasing the nervous activity in the body. Areca nut has several bioactivities such as Antioxidant activity, Hypoglycaemic activity, Hypolipidemic activity, Antihypertensive activity, Anti depression activity and Anticoagulant activity. The nut of this plant consists of various chemical constituents like alkaloids, tannins, arecoline, arecadine and fibres. Arecoline and Guvacoline are the different carboxylic acids isolated from the plant. In general the nut of Areca catechu is widely used by the people for the purpose of chewing as a habit. It may leads to addiction and it is also one of the causes of oral cancer. The Ethanolic extract of areca nut has potent antioxidant activity. Areca nut also has potent invitro inhibitory activity on angiotensin converting enzyme.

Keywords: Areca catechu, Betel nut, Areca nut