INTRODUCTION:

The piper betel plant is blessed as evergreen and perennial plant that has god created and have given the shape of his own heart. Anthropologists have found traces of betel in the sprit caves in Northeast Thailand dating back as to 5500-7000 BC.

Which even before Systemic and organised agriculture came too practiced They have similar findings in Timor in Indonesia going back to 3000 BC And in the blacked teeth of human skeleton in Palawan in a Philippines going back to 2600Bc.It had found a place in the most ancient Sri-Lanka Historical Book Name as ‘’Mahawamsa’’ written in palli¹. Piper betle is chewed in some countries where they found hardened chewers are found in Thailand Myanmar and Indonesia with black teeth as result of long years of chewing ^[1]. There is archaeological evidence that the betel leaves have been chewed along with the Arica nut since very ancient times it is not known when these two different stimulants substances were first put together. It may difficult to clearly as certain the period when the tradition of paan chewing as started. However its mention in the Vatsyayana’s Kamsutra a Kalidas’s Raghuvamsa in itself reflects antiquity of this practice¹.

Social status of pan can also be appreciated from that it was considered to be a great honour to receive paan bida [A pair of leaves with churn (Lime), kattha (Catechu) and supari (Areca nut)] from kings and nobles such was the status of paan in ancient India ⁽¹⁾. Piper betel is called by different names in India i.e. paan in Hindi, Tambula in Sanskrit, Villayadela in Kannada, Vettilakkoti in Malayalam, Vettilai in Tamil, Tamalapaku in Telugu, Videch-pan in Marathi, Nagarbel in Gujarat, Pan in Bengal also called Tanbol in Persian. The betel plant has compound flowers with gender, a house of 1 or 2. The bulb stands alone at the end and facing the leaves. Grain length about 5-15cm and width 2-5 cm. The male ear is about 1.5 – 3cm long and there are two short stamens while the female ear is about 2.5 -6 cm long where there are three to five white and yellowish green pistils. The piper betel it is variety of in curing wounds, burns, impetigo, furuneloris, eczema, lymphangis, and juice is beneficial stomatic, kammaru [Varity of piper betel] leaf has a good level of juice that heals pharyngitis generally betel leaf cures urticaria and as per ayurvadic medicine. It recovers the loss of equilibrium between the three ‘humours’ namely vathapith and kapha. The roots and fruits are well known for treatment of malaria asthma . Pan comprise about 10 genera, 2000 species, the genus piper (Piperaceae) is largely distributed in tropical and subtropical region of the world. Over 700 species of piper betel has been distributed in both of the hemispheres of world of these, 30 species have been recorded in India. 18 in Sri- Lanka and 3 are endemic. Piper betel is cultivated in India . The betel leaves are mainly used as mouth freshener and is also well known for curing many communicable and non-communicable diseases like cold , cough , bronchial asthma rheumatism stomachalgia and used to treat other diseases like bad breath boils and abscesses, conjunctivitis, constipation, swelling of gums, cuts.²

The betel leave consuming a day helps to flush out the toxins that further restore the normal pH levels of the stomach and hence, increases appetite Betel leaf is a great source of antioxidant that fights oxidative stress by scavenging free radicals. Thus betel leaf helps in lowering high blood glucose levels and aids in the management of diabetes mellitus. High cholesterol level is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The betel leaf juice provides relief from internal pains in the body. Betel leaves are a power house of antioxidants that clear radicals from the body. It restores normal pH levels in the body and helps an upset stomach. Ayureveda widely recommends eating betel leaves for relief from constipation.³ The betel pepper is an evergreen vine with heart-shaped leaves Grown in shady tropical conditions. The plants are dioeciously (individuals are either male or female) and produce white flowers arranged in small spikes called catkins. The plant is most likely native to Malaysia but is widely cultivated in areas in which betel chewing is popular. Male plants are grown more frequently than female plants and are propagated asexually by cuttings. The harvested leaves are extremely susceptible to post harvest disease and rapid spoilage and farmers Frequently incur significant crop losses betel chewing additive, releasing a stimulant similar to nicotine and causing sensations of mild euphoria. Although it is important in many cultural traditions of southern Asia. Betel chewing is linked to a number of serious health problems including oral and oesophageal cancer and is of growing concern for health officials .⁴

Biological Constituents :-

The piper betel leaf is belonging to the family of kingdom Plantae: Piperaceae the division of piper leaves is Magnoliophyta or class: Magnoliopsida, order is Piperales. Genus: Piper Species: betel binomial name: Piper betel.⁶

Chemical constituents :

The leaf contain Different vitamin like vitamin-C (0.005-0.01%), Nicotinic acid (0.63- 0.89mg/100gms), Thiamine (10-70ug /100 gms), Riboflavin (1.9-30ug/100gms), beside this it contain minerals such as calcium (0.2-0.5 %), iron (0.005 – 0.007), iodine (3.4 ug/ 100gms), Phosphorus (0.05-0.6%), Potassium (1.1-4.6%) Leaves contain bitter compounds that are about (0.7-2.6%). The specific strong pungent aromatic flavour in leaves is due to phenol and terpenes like bodies. The leaf also contain water (85-90%), proteins (3-3.5 %), carbohydrates (0.5-6.1%), Minerals (2.3-3.3%), Fat (0.4-1%), Fibres (2.3%), Essential oil (0.08-0.2%), Tannin (0.1-1.3%), Alkaloid arakene .

Mythology:

The ancient hindu text sakanda purana. which dates back to the sixth century has references to the leaf. In the story of ‘Samudra manthan’ the churring of the ocean by Gods and Demons to acquire the necter of immortality yielded. Celestial objects. One being in betel leaf. The holy leaf also finds mentions in epics like mahabharata. Which is how it got a vital postions in religious ceremonies. The hindus goddesses reside the need to offer entirly in ceremonies. Skanda purana notes that the gods acquiered the betel leaf during the churning of the ocean for the ambrosia. Another religous anecdote goes that when shri hanuman with a betel vine as a symbol of her happiness and appreciation. The principal reason that it is mandatory for pujas is that hindus trust the betel leaf to possess different deities. Specifically shukra and indra reside in the leaf’s top portion. Goddess saraswati is present in the middle part.Goddess mahalakshimi occupies the lower tip. The part that bridges the betel leaf to the stemis home to jyesta laksmi. Lord vishnu lives inside the leaf. Kamdev and lord shiva inhibit outside of the leaf. Mangalya devi and goddess parvati live on the left side. Bhoomidevi or mother earth lodge in on the right side. Lord Suryanaryana is all round the leaf.⁷

Geographical source:

The Piper betel is native to central and eastern Malaysia and was taken into cultivation more than 2500 years throughout Malaysia and tropical Asia .it reached Madagascar and East Africa Much later and was also introduced into the West Indies .written Chinese sources from the period of the tang dynasty [A.D 618-907] described southeast. Asia as region of betel users .betel chewing was wide spread in south India and south china when the first Europeans arrived in the 15^thcentury.

With known ethno medicinal properties, this plant is widely use in India, Indonesia and other Countries of the indo-china region. Malaysia, Vietnam Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore as shown in follow

Fig No: 04Region within the dotted lines major areas of Piper betel consumption.

Where, AFR: Africa, MAD: Madagascar, PAK: Pakistan, IND: India, NEP: Nepal, SRI: Sri-lanka, THI: Thailand, CAM: Cambodia, MAL: Malaysia, PNG: Papua New Guinea, BOR: Borneo, SIN: Singapore, LOA: Laos Angeles, VIT: Vietnam.

Fig. no. 04. Region within the dotted lines shows major areas of piper betel consumption.

Barring the areas where the climatic conditions (High or low temperature accompanied by very low humidity) Do not support its cultivation. Betelvine is widely distributed in all over the state of India except northern regions (Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh due to sever winter and Northern west Rajasthan8

Cultivation:

It is cultivated in soil which is black, friable, clay loam resembling tank earth, contains large portion of organic matter, but the best pans grown in Bengal on light loam sightless reddish in colour. The plant grown from sea level to1000mt, rainfall of more than 179cm is necessary. It thrives best under tropical forest condition with shade considerable humidity and plenty of soil moisture. Broadly there are two cropping system under natural conditions and controlled conditions. The open system of cultivation under natural conditions is practiced in regions where conditions of high humidity and moderate sunshine prevail throughout the year. The type is basically a climber which required supporting tree like areca nut (Areca catechu) andcoconut (Cocos nucifera) and generally attains 10- 15 meters height with profuse branching at thetop and lot of foliage. Another type of cropping is partially controlled cultivation which is common in regions where high humidity and low sunshine.⁹

Propagation is easy by root division or cuttings. Betel requires well-drained fertile soil semi-shade position. Water logged, saline and alkali soils are unsuitable for its cultivation. First of all prepare a garden called a barouj in which to grow betel. The barouj is fenced with bamboo sticks and coconut leaves. The soil is plored into furrows of 10 to15 meter length 75 cm in width and 75 cm in depth.

Oil cakes manure and leaves are thoroughly incorporated with the top soil of the furrows and wood ash. The cuttings are planted at the beginning of the monsoon season. Proper shade and irrigation are essential for the successful cultivation of this crop. Betel needs constantly moist soil but there should not be excessive moisture irrigation is frequent and light and standing water should not remain for more than half an hour. In 3to 6 months the vines reach 150 to 180 centimetres in height and they will branch harvest begins with the farmer plucking the leaf and its petiole with right thumb. The harvest lasts 15 days to be one month. This plant grows in slightly humid forest areas with moist soil conditions areas that are shaded and protected from the wind. Betel leaf has a distinctive aromatic smell is spicy and warm. Betel leaf extract is used as a mouth wash when the mouth is swollen. The important constituents of P. betle have become a good source of income and mode of foreign exchange for the country. The size and colour of the betel leaf is the most important factor for the betel producers to categorise products in the market. On the basis of chemical constituents of leaf essential oils, five prominent groups of betelvine landraces, namely Bengal, Kapoori, Meetha, Sanchii and Desawari have been recognized. The betelvine is called as ‘green gold of India’ as about 20 million people derive their livelihood directly or indirectly from production, processing, handling, transportation and marketing of betel leaves in India. There are about 125–150 cultivars of betelvine available in India. Cultivation of betel is done on about 55000 with an annual production which worth about Rs 9000 million. It is mainly cultivated in West Bengal, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The annual production of betel leaves is about Rs 9000 million and it was found from the survey that about 20 million people acquire their lives from maintenance, plantation, management, export and import of betel leaves in India. The cultivation Economy depends both in terms of benefit-to-cost ratio and net income. For the last 7 years an average productivity of 19.41 lakh leaves has been observed. It is also found to be one of the most important commercial crops which are able to attract adequate amount of foreign exchange to the country. Per year leaves worth about Rs (30–40) million are exported to other countries of the world like Baharin, Canada, Great Britain, Nepal, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The annual turnover of betelvine is estimated to be Rs. 10 000 million. The betel leaves are also exported to UK, USA, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and other Arabian Countries from India which is able to earn about 198 lakh rupees per year through this foreign exchange⁽⁴⁾. Betel is scattered throughout Indonesia, often found in yards. The preferred growing place is at an altitude of 200-1000mill, which has a rainfall of 2250 - 4750 mm per year.¹⁰

Extraction Method:

Plant extracts phytochemicals portions with miraculous medicine powers owing to the unmistakable promise of herbal medications, there is an ever increasing quest for new plants that could possibly hold the key to prevent or eliminate this dreaded disease by conferring superior chemo preventive or chemo- therapeutic properties. The secondary metabolites produced by plants referred to as phytochemicals are often plant stress signalling molecules, which have been identified to resists tress, fight disease and improve longevity in animals consuming them a phenomenon known as xenohormesis(4-7).indeed.

The phytochemicals present in fruits and vegetables (eg.carotenoids, polyphenols, anthocyanins, terpenes, alkaloids) are functionally pleiotropic, they posses multiple intracellular targets affecting different cell signalling cascades usually altered in cancer cells with limited toxicity to normal cells. However the host of disease cuisines spices and herbs. The nutraceuticals derived from spices and herbs have also been shown to modulate multiple targets, including the transcription factors (NF-KB Nrf2, hypoxia-inducible factor-1a) kinesis and inflammation markers .However there still exist several unexplored condiments with promising disease-fighting potential. Some plants have it all the versatile pharmacopeia of piper betel leaves although known from ancient times, scientific interest in piper betel an evergreen vine, was restricted owing to misconceptions largely due to the consumption of betel quid, a combination of betel leaf with areca nut, slaked lime, and tobacco which is a store house of several carcinogens and has been linked to the development of oral cancer (9-11). Recent years have seen a rekindled interest in pursuing this member of this magnificent plant using a rationale driven scientific approach. A perennial in warm and humid environments and can grow up to one meter in length. Although the plant originally hails from India, over the past several decades, it has gained popularity amongst other south Asian countries such sri-lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia Thailand and Singapore. No wonder these leaves are recognized as “Green Gold” due to their high demand in the south Asian countries. These betel leaves are widely cultivated in most parts of south and Southeast Asia. Including India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan sri-lanka, Nepal, Burma, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Thai-land, Taiwan and Malaysia. The cultivation of these leaves is mostly limited to areas with moderate climate conditions accompanied by high humidity. The harvested leaves are also exported to other parts of Asia, Middle East, Europe and United States.(11)

Uses:

The use of betel leaf can be traced as far back as two thousand years. Betel laves help to some health problems they are following such as headache, scanty or obstructed urination, and weakness of nerves, sore throat, respiratory disorders, constipation, problem of breast milk secretion, inflammation, wounds, boils.

· Headache: Betel leaf is popular home remedy for headache. The betel leaf has analgesic and cooling properties. It can be applied with beneficial results over the painful area to relieve intense headache.

· Scanty or obstructed urination: Betel leaf juice is credited with diuretic properties. Its juice mixed with dilute milk and sweet ends lightly. Helps in easy urination.

· Weakness of nerves: Betel leaves play a vital role in the treatment of nervous pains nervous exhaustion and debility. The juice of a few betel leaves with a teaspoon of honey will serve as a good tonic. A teaspoon of this can be taken twice a day.

· Sore throat: Betel leaf is an excellent house hold remedy in the treatment of cough and sore throat. Local application of the leaves is effective in treating sore throat. The crushed fruit or berry should be mixed with honey a taken to relieve irritating cough.

· Respiratory Disorders: Betel leaves are useful in pulmonary affection in childhood and old age. The leaves soaked in mustard oil and warmed may be applied to the chest to relieve cough and difficulty in breathing.

· Constipation: in the case of constipation in children, a suppository made of the stalk of betel leaf dipped in castor oil can be introduced in the rectum, this instantly relieves constipation.

· Problem of Breast milk secretion: The application of leaves smeared with oil is said to promote secretion of milk when applied on the breast during lactation.

· Inflammation: Applied locally betle leaves are beneficial in the treatment of inflammation such as arthritis and orchitis that is inflammation of the testes.

· Wounds: Betel leaves can be used to heal wounds. The juice of few leaves should be extracted and applied on the wound. Then betle leaf should be wrapped over and bandaged. The wound will heal up with a single application within 2 days.

· Boils: Betel leaf is also an effective remedy for boils. A leaf is gently warmed till it gets softened, and is then coated with a layer of castor oil. The oiled leaf is spread over the inflamed part. This leaf has to be replaced, every few hours. After a few applications, the boil will rupture draining all the purulent matter. The application can be made at night and removed in the morning.¹²

Pharmacological Activity :-

· Antimicrobial Activity: Nair and chanda (2008), were studied the aqueous and methanol extract of the leaves of Terminaliacatappal, manikarazapota L, and piper betel, for antibacterial activity against 10 grampostitive,12gramnegative bacteria and one fungal strain, Candida tropical is. Piperacillin and gentamicin were used as standards for antibacterial assay while fluconazole was used as standard for antifungal assay. The plants showed different degree of activity against the microorganism investigated. The methanol extract was considerably more effective than aqueous extract in inhibiting the investigated. The methanol betel.

· Antihistaminic activity: Hajare et al, (2011) were evaluated piper betel Linn. Leaves for its antihistaminic activity. In the study the pharmacological evaluation of ethanol extract and essential oil extract of leaves of Piper betel Linn. Has been done for their antihistaminic activity on guinea pig. In isolated guinea pig tracheal chain preparation there was a right side shift of dose response curve (DRC) of histamine. Chlorpheniramine maleate was used as a standard drug.

· Anti-inflammatory effects: The betel leaf is used as common house hold remedy for inflammation in the oral cavity. Dohi et al, (1989) has shown that the ethanol extract of betel leaf has been reported to possess anti-inflammatory activities at non –toxic concentrations in the complete Freund’s adjuvant induced model of arthritis in rats. Eugenol one of the principal constituent of betel leaf has also been shown to possess anti-inflammatory effects in various animal models of studies with various inflamogens.

· Antioxidant effects: Azuine et al, (1991) and Bhide et al, (1991) described that the betel leaf constituents eugenol hydroxychavicol and alpha – tocopherol were also shown to enhance the levels of GSH in mouse skin and liver. Together all these observations clearly indicated that the betel leaf extracts and some of its constituents increased the cellular antioxidants and mediate the chemo- preventive effects at least in part

· Antifungal activity: Ali et al. (2010) have shown that the hydroxychavicol isolated from the chloroform extraction of the aqueous leaf extract of piper betel L. (Piperaceae) was investigated for its antifugal activity against 123 strains of selected fungi. Hydroxychavicol exhibited inhibitory effect on fungal species of clinical significance with the MIcs ranging from 15.62 to 500 ug/ml for yeasts 125 to 500ug/ml for aspergillus species and 7.81 to 62.5ug/ml for dermatophytes where as the MfCs were found to be similar or two fold greater than MICs. There was concentration dependent killing of Candida albicans and Candida globrata up to 8 x MIC. Hydroxychavicol also exhibited an extended post antifugal effect of 6.25 to 8.70 h at4 x MIC for Candida species and suppressed the emergence of mutatants of the fungal species tasted at 2 x to 8 x MIC concentration. Their conclusion was that antifungal activity exhibited by this compound can be used as an antifugal agent particularly for treating topical infections as well as gargle mouthwash against oral Candida infections.¹³

CONCLUSION:

The betle plant is an evergreen heart shaped deliciously perennial with glossy herbs. The leaves are rich vitamins like vitamin c, Thiamine niacin ,riboflavin and carotene and are great source of calcium since the amount of betle leaf one actually consumer in very small is can hardly contribute as a rich source of these nutrients. It is a good practice to take mouthfuls of a cup of warm. Water added with a drop of betel leaf oil take at time in morning and evening it can be used for the respiratory issue as well as it removes cough and cold and it gives relief from asthma. The treatment of various disorders of the human being such as diabetes, fungal infection, microbial infection, inflammation, antihisminic, antiulcer, local anaesthetic etc. The most properly since. Antiquity piper betle commonly known as betle use as religious recreational and medicinal plant south East Asia. The leaves are which are the most commonly used plant part are pungent with aromatic flavour and are widely consumed as a mouth freshener.¹⁴

REFERENCE:

1. Journal of pharmacognocy and photochemistry Golden heart of the nature piper betle L. issn2278-4136 ZDB-Number: 266835-5 Ic journal no: 8192 volume 1 issue 6

2. International journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical science. Antimicrobial, antioxidantive and anti haemolytic activity of piper betel leaf extract International journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences vol 3,suppl 3,2011 ISSN-0975-1491.

3. Biotechnological intervention in betel vine (Piper betel): A review on recent advances and future prospects. Asian pacific journal of tropical medicine.Aug2016938-94.

4. www.wikipedia.com

5. https://www .britannica.com

6. Piper betle and Some Indian Plant for Antidepressant Activity: A Review. Research Journal of Pharmaceutical, Biological and Chemical Sciences. March – April 2016 RJPBCSISSN: 0975- 8585

7. https://www .shutterstock.com/image-photo/green-betel-piper-leaf-on-white-1141292945

8. https://www .istockphoto.com/betel-leaf-photos

9. http://tamaridweddings.com/blog/significance-betel-leaves-areca-nuts

10. Saudi journal of medical and pharmaceutical sciences. Photochemistry pharmaceutical study of piper betel leaf. Saudi j Medpharm sciISSN2413-4929(print)ISSN2413-4910(Online) Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

11. https://www .nparks.gov.sg

12. International Journal of Pharmaceutical sciences and Research Sengupta and Banik, IJPSR, 2013Vol. 4(12): 4519-4524E-ISSN: 0975-8232; P-ISSN: 2320-5148published01December, 2013

13. Piper betel leaf: A reservoir of potential xenohormetic nutraceuticals with cancer-Fighting Properties Publish Online First January 21, 2014, DOI 10.1158/1940-6207. CAPR-13-0355.

14. Kumar, S, S. ExVivo Studies on Gluconeogenes is Inhibitory Activity of Piper Betel Inflorescence. International Journal of Engineering Applied Science and Technology. 2020; 5(2): 264-268.

Received on 23.01.2022 Modified on 09.02.2022

Res. J. Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics.2022;14(2):93-98.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5836.2022.00017