← The ApothecaryArecaceaeseed (nut)Fact-checked 24 October 2026

Significant riskGroup 1 human carcinogen: linked to cancers of the mouth, pharynx and oesophagus, and associated with liver, biliary and uterine cancers. Chewing is associated with heart attack, arrhythmia, worsening asthma, central obesity, type 2 diabetes and liver damage. In pregnancy it is linked to low birth weight, stillbirth and preterm birth. Not for home medicinal use.In an emergency, call your local emergency number or poison centre.

Areca nut

Areca catechu

Also calledBetel nut · Supari (Hindi/Urdu) · Bing lang (Chinese) · Pinang (Indonesian/Malay) · Buai (Tok Pisin) · Moma (northern Philippines)

The seed of a tropical palm, chewed with betel leaf and lime by roughly a tenth of the world's people, which makes it the fourth most used psychoactive substance after nicotine, alcohol and caffeine. It has a long history as a digestive and a worm medicine in Chinese and South Asian practice. It is also a proven human carcinogen and is addictive.

What it is used for

Intestinal worms
Traditional
Used against intestinal parasites in traditional Chinese and South Asian medicine. Its alkaloid arecoline (as arecoline hydrobromide) was once widely used to treat tapeworm in dogs, but doses that worked caused vomiting and convulsions, and it is now essentially no longer used as a dewormer.^3,4
Indigestion and dyspepsia
Traditional
Chinese medicine uses it to promote digestion in prescriptions such as Binglang Sixiao Wan and Muxiang Binglang Wan, and chewers say it helps digestion. There are no clinical trials supporting this, and chewing is linked to type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.^2,3,4

Safety

Pregnancy: Contraindicated
Breastfeeding: Avoid
Children: Not for children.

Interactions with medicines

anticholinergic drugs (e.g. procyclidine)MajorArecoline opposes the anticholinergic procyclidine; heavy users with schizophrenia may develop severe extrapyramidal symptoms.
benzodiazepinesModerateReported to make users resistant to benzodiazepines and more prone to seizures.

Interaction checker →

Do not use if

Pregnancy
Oral submucous fibrosis, leukoplakia or other oral lesions
Asthma
Heart disease

Side effects

Palpitations, raised blood pressure, flushing and sweating within minutes
Dependence, with a withdrawal syndrome of insomnia, mood swings, irritability and anxiety
Oral submucous fibrosis, leukoplakia and red-stained teeth

In the healing traditions

Traditional Chinese Medicine
Bing lang
Seed for promoting digestion and killing parasites, in formulas such as Binglang Sixiao Wan, Muxiang Binglang Wan and Yueju Baohe Wan.
Southeast Asian (Jamu, Thai, Philippine…)
Pinang / Moma
Chewed as betel quid with Piper betle leaf and lime across Southeast Asia and Oceania for its stimulant effect; reported traditional uses of the nut include worms, fever, stomach pain and rheumatism. Burials at Duyong Cave on Palawan, about 2680 BCE, show the stained teeth of betel chewers.
Ayurveda
Supari
Used in the preparation of Ayurvedic medicines; chewed in paan, which users regard as an aid to digestion.

Active compounds

arecoline: main alkaloid; partial agonist at muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; causes the stimulant and parasympathetic effects and is linked to dependence and carcinogenicity
arecaidine, guvacine, guvacoline: other alkaloids (alkaloids total 0.15–0.67% of the nut); nitrosated in the mouth to areca-specific nitrosamines that damage DNA
polyphenols and tannins: 11–26% of the nut

History

Archaeological finds from Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines suggest areca and betel leaf have been chewed together for at least 4,000 years. India now grows about 60% of the world's 2.3 million tonnes a year (2023). Arecoline hydrobromide was first widely used as a tapeworm treatment for dogs in Australia.

Sources

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.