Areca Nut or Betel Nut or Chalia.

[NasNY]

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) regards the chewing of betel and areca nut to be a known human carcinogen.[SUP][12][/SUP] The media has reported that regular chewers of betel leaf and areca nut have a higher risk of damaging their gums and acquiring cancer of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus and stomach.[SUP][13][/SUP][SUP][14][/SUP] Studies have found tobacco and caustic lime increase the risk of cancer from areca nut preparations.[SUP][15][/SUP][SUP][16][/SUP]

Studies have been conducted on the use of a "pure" paan preparation: areca nut, betel leaf, and lime only. One animal study done in 1989 found that unprocessed areca nuts, even at high doses, displayed only a very weak carcinogenicity in mice, whereas use of processed areca nuts, as commonly used in paan preparations, caused cancer.[SUP][17][/SUP] Since 1971, many studies have showed areca nut extracts to cause cancer in rodents.[SUP][18][/SUP][SUP][19][/SUP] In 2003 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reached the conclusion that there is sufficient evidence that the habit of chewing betel quid, with or without tobacco, is carcinogenic to humans.[SUP][15][/SUP] Support for this conclusion is provided by a recent study which found that paan, even without concurrent tobacco use, is a risk factor for oral cancer. The Merchant et al. study further determined that paan, when consumed with and without tobacco, increased oral cancer risk by 8.4 and 9.9 times, respectively, compared to those who do not consume paan.[SUP][20]
[/SUP]
Chewing areca nut alone has been linked to oral submucosal fibrosis.[SUP][21][/SUP] According to Medline Plus, "Long-term use [of betel-areca preparations] has been associated with oral submucosal fibrosis (OSF), pre-cancerous oral lesions and squamous cell carcinoma. Acute effects of betel chewing include asthma exacerbation, hypertension, and tachycardia. There may additionally be a higher risk of cancers of the liver, mouth, esophagus, stomach, prostate, cervix, and lung with regular betel use. Other effects can include a possible effect on blood sugar levels, which may in turn increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes."[SUP][22][/SUP][SUP][dead link][/SUP]

The use of areca nut paste to clean teeth is mentioned in fiction, notably in James Joyce's Ulysses,[SUP][23][/SUP] set in 1904. However, the increase in mouth ulcers and gum deterioration caused by chewing areca nut and betel may outweigh any positive effects.
Use of areca nut has been associated with deterioration of psychosis in patients with preexisting psychiatric disorders [SUP][24][/SUP]
In October, 2009, 30 scientists from 10 countries met at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a World Health Organization sponsored group, to reassess the carcinogenicity of various agents including areca nut, and mechanisms of carcinogenesis. They concluded there is sufficient evidence that areca nut, with or without tobacco, can cause cancer.[SUP][25][/SUP]

 

[NasNY]

Do you really want to know all the other good ingredients in PAAN. Like Choona (Calcium Carbonate)

 

[messam]

Do you really want to know all the other good ingredients in PAAN. Like Choona (Calcium Carbonate)

Chor doon gaa, Mein Choor doon gaa,...

Aaj k baad paan k khilaaf likhi baatein parhnaa chor dooon gaa..[hilar]

 

[Night_Hawk]

Katha: Kattha is the purest form obtained from the extract of heartwood of common Indian free khoir Acacia. Kattha is used in various factories manufacturing masala as raw material. There is a huge consumption and there are factories mainly in Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra & Jammu Kashmir.

Catechu (also known as cutch, cashoo, or Japan earth) is an extract of any of several species of Acacia—but especially Acacia catechu—produced by boiling the wood in water and evaporating the resulting brew.

Catechu (called katha in Hindi) is an astringent and has been used since ancient times in Ayurvedic medicine as well as in breath-freshening spice mixtures. Black Catechu has recently also been utilized by Blavod Drinks Ltd. to dye their vodka black. [1]

Also called cutch, it is a brown dye used for tanning and dyeing and for preserving fishing nets and sails.

White cutch, also known as gambier, gambeer, or gambir, has the same uses.
CATECHU, or Cltch (Malay, kachu), an extract obtained from several plants, its chief sources being the wood of two species of acacia (A. catechu and A. suma), both natives of India. This extract is known as black catechu. A similar extract, known in pharmacy as pale catechu (Catechu pallidum), and in general commerce as gambir, or terra japonica, is produced from the leaves of Uncaria gambir and U. acida, cinchonaceous plants growing in the East Indian Archipelago. A third product to which the name catechu is also applied, is obtained from the fruits of the areca or betel palm, Areca catechu. Ordinary black catechu is usually imported in three different forms. The first and best quality, known as Pegu catechu, is obtained in blocks externally covered with large leaves; the second and less pure variety is in masses, which have been moulded in sand; and the third consists of large cubes packed in coarse bags. The wood of the two species of Acacia yielding catechu is taken for the manufacture when the trees have attained a diameter of about 1 ft. The bark is stripped off and used for tanning, and the trunk is split up into small fragments, which are covered with water and boiled. When the extract has become sufficiently thick it is cast into the forms in which the catechu is found in commerce. Catechu so prepared is a dark brown, or, in mass, almost black, substance, brittle, and having generally a shining lustre. It is astringent, with a sweetish taste. In cold water it disintegrates, and in boiling water; alcohol, acetic acid and strong caustic alkali it is completely dissolved. Chemically it consists of a mixture of a peculiar variety of tannin termed catechu-tannic acid with catechin or catechuic acid, and a brown substance due to the alteration of both these principles. Catechu-tannic acid is an amorphous body soluble in cold water, while catechin occurs in minute, white, silky, needle-shaped crystals, which do not dissolve in cold water. A very minute proportion of quercetin, a principle yielded by quercitron bark, has been obtained from catechu.

 

[Humi]

dont eat it...there are better ways to satisfy your sweet tooth...

 

[zeshaan]

Gutka is a preparation of betel nuts and tobacco designed to be chewed.

Gutka is a preparation of betel nuts and tobacco designed to be chewed. It originated in the Indian Subcontinent, where its consumption is widespread today, and spread from there to areas with a large Indian population. Like other tobacco products, gutka is potentially addictive and cancerous, and in India, some moves have been made to attempt to restrict its availability to address health concerns.



In addition to betel nuts and tobacco, gutka also includes an extract of acacia called catechu, and slaked lime, which is designed to catalyze a chemical reaction when gutku is chewed, releasing alkaloids in the blend to make it more powerful. It is also usually blended with spices and seasonings, which can make it sour, hot, or sweet. Sometimes, traditional Ayurvedic herbs are used to give gutka an illusion of respectability, and sweet flavorings are often designed to appeal specifically to children.



Classically, gutka comes in the form of a loose powder that is inserted into the mouth, chewed, and eventually spat out. Like other betel nut chews, it is highly staining, leaving a characteristic reddish to orange stain on the lips, tongue, and teeth, and it also stains the streets and sidewalks when people spit it out. Gutka is also extremely addictive, and thanks to the tobacco content, it can contribute to the development of oral and throat cancers.

Fotos are not posted because of thairs uglyness.


http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-gutka.htm