A handful of research papers are available on the composition of areca nut. However, only a couple of papers can be considered for all the practical purposes as they used standard protocols and sophisticated instruments ensuring reproducibility and sensitivity.
Review of processing practices of areca nut in various major areca
growing regions of the world shows that areca nut is harvested at four different
stages of maturity.
1.
Unripe areca nut of 2-3 months maturity (In Taiwan and
consumed fresh with husk)
2.
Unripe areca nuts of 4-5 months maturity (In China,
sliced and smoke dried)
3.
Unripe areca nuts of 6-7 months maturity (In India,
Indonesia, boiled and sundried)
4.
Ripe areca fruits of 9-10 months maturity (In India, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Malysia, Thailand, Indonesia etc. sundried or fermented.)
Areca nut is
processed in four different ways, after harvesting, as follows.
1.
Unripe areca nuts of 4-5 months maturity: Sliced and
smoke dried. Steeped in sugar, mint syrup to impart flavour and dried. Marketed
as Bing lang in sachets in China.
2.
Unripe areca
nuts of 6-7 months maturity: Boiled in Chogaru/Kali repeatedly and sundried,
sold as Red Supari (Kempadike) in India and Indonesia.
3.
Ripe areca fruits of 9-10 months maturity: Dehusked
and sun dried, sold as White Supari (Chali) in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan,
Malysia, Thailand, Indonesia etc.
4.
Ripe areca fruits of 9-10 months maturity: Fermented
under the earth or in water tanks, sold as Niradike or Doma in India (assam,
Meghalaya) & Bhutan.
Considering the fact that areca nut is harvested at different stages of maturity and processed by different methods, chemical composition of the final product is bound to change substantially. Hence it is not possible to state a one general composition of areca nut, which is applicable to all the varieties. Furthermore, the agroclimatic conditions also known to influence the composition of the areca nut to a great extent, especially with respect to some of the important active principles. Areca nut of India is found to possess different chemical composition in comparison to areca nut of Indonesia and elsewhere. Unfortunately, the reports on all these varieties are not available. However, I am going to make an effort to present the composition of areca nut in my subsequent posts under the label "Chemical constituents of areca nut".
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