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The two-day interactive workshop on ‘arecanut and human health’, which began at the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) at Kasaragod in Kerala on Tuesday, stressed the need to dispel the negative notions about arecanut.
P Chowdappa, Director of CPCRI, said that arecanut is cultivated on an area of 4.46 lakh hectares with an annual production of around 6.08 lakh tonnes. Around 10 million people are dependent on this crop, directly or indirectly, for their livelihood.
Medicinal properties
He said that arecanut possesses anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, anti-ulcer, anti-diabetic, and neuro-protective properties. In spite of these medicinal values, arecanut has been portrayed as a commodity having adverse impact on human health. This has caused a lot of anxiety among the stakeholders in the arecanut value chain.
“The situation necessitates concerted efforts on our part to unequivocally dispel the prevailing negative notions on arecanut. It warrants systematic clinical research studies to understand the effects of arecanut products on human health, in addition to exploring its alternate uses,” he said.
The workshop will take stock of the current status, identify the gaps and develop a working network. Chowdappa said the workshop will help bring out a clear-cut document to say that arecanut does not have any negative effect on human health.
Manjunatha K Naik, Vice-Chancellor of the Shivamogga-based University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, said there are some preconceived notions about arecanut that it is not good for health.
He hoped that the workshop would help dispel such doubts on arecanut. The spread of the crop has increased by 4.5 times, and production by eight times in the last five decades, he said.
Harmful chemicals
Satheesh Kumar Bhandary, Vice-Chancellor of Nitte (a deemed-to-be university), said arecanut and ‘tamboola’ find mentions in Sushrita Samhita of 600 BC, whereas the tobacco came to India in the 17th century AD. The cheap fungicides and pesticides used during arecanut storage add harmful chemicals in paan-masala, along with tobacco, he said.
He said Nitte is open to do studies on the medicinal values of arecanut on Alzhei-mer’s, schizophrenia and glaucoma.
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