- Botanical Name
- Piper betle
Betel Leaf
Details
Betel is an evergreen, dioecious vine of the pepper family, native to Southeast Asia, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. It is grown for its leaves in South and Southeast Asia, from India to Papua New Guinea, on a tree or pole for support, in moist, well-drained, fertile soil. The leaves flavour the betel quid, in which they wrap areca nut with calcium hydroxide and, historically, catechu. In India and Sri Lanka a sheaf of betel leaves is traditionally offered as a mark of respect and auspicious beginnings, at weddings, at the New Year, and as thanks to physicians and astrologers. Red betel leaf is sometimes used as an antibacterial mouthwash. The quid, not the leaf alone, is the health hazard.
Caution
Chewed alone the leaf has no known negative effect, but it is mostly used to wrap betel quid, which contains areca nut. Betel quid is carcinogenic, contains a psychostimulant drug, damages the mouth with habitual use and is associated with serious health conditions. The IARC and WHO accept that chewing areca nut is carcinogenic to humans.
Correspondences
- Elements
- No elements recorded.
- Celestial Bodies
- No celestial bodies recorded.
- Zodiac Signs
- No zodiac signs recorded.
- Colours
- No colours recorded.
- Deities
- No deities recorded.
Folk Names
- Betel
- Betel Vine
- Paan
- Vettila
Categories
- Banishing
- Prosperity
- Warding
Substitutes
No substitutes recorded.
Forms
Leaf
Caution
Betel quid, in which the leaf wraps areca nut, is carcinogenic.
References
References
Notes
- Biswas et al., "Betelvine (Piper betle L.)," Section 7, Traditional and Ethno-Medicinal Use.
- Singh et al., "Study on magico-religious plants," p. 13, Discussion.
- Wikipedia, under "Betel," lead; the paragraph on health effects; the paragraph on offerings.
- Wikipedia, under "Betel."
Bibliography
- Biswas, Protha; Anand, Uttpal; Saha, Suchismita Chatterjee; Kant, Nishi; Mishra, Tulika; Masih, Harison; Bar, Ananya; Pandey, Devendra Kumar; Jha, Niraj Kumar; Majumder, Madhumita; Das, Neela; Gadekar, Vijaykumar Shivaji; Shekhawat, Mahipal S.; Kumar, Manoj; Radha; Proćków, Jarosław; Pérez de la Lastra, José M.; Dey, Abhijit. "Betelvine (Piper betle L.): A comprehensive insight into its ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and pharmacological, biomedical and therapeutic attributes." Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine 26(11), pp. 3083-3119, 2022. Accessed October 29, 2026. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9170825/. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
1 - Singh, Kanwaljeet; Kumar, Pankaj; Kumar, Bushan; Gairola, Sumeet. "Study on magico-religious plants in Paddari tribe of Jammu and Kashmir, India." Ethnobotany Research and Applications 27 (2024-04-11). Accessed October 29, 2026. https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/6026. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
2 - Wikipedia, under "Betel." Accessed October 29, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Betel&oldid=1380256265. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
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