Betel nut

Betel nut (BN), the fruit from the palm Areca catechu, is the fourth most commonly used psychoactive drug worldwide. BN's harmful effects include an increased risk of oral and upper aerodigestive cancers. Current BN consumption, preparation, age of use and health attitudes among the Yapese population, which has a strong cultural tie to BN was assessed. Surveys were conducted by trained Public Health staff during the Fall 2014, using a standardized instrument. Of 700 Yapese randomly interviewed, 88.5% are current users with the majority (87.9%) aware of harmful effects of BN. Yapese are introduced to BN at a mean are of 13.9 + 5.8 years (range 2 to 50 years) and begin routine daily use at 17.8 + 6.1 years (range 2 to 53 years), with no significant gender difference. Culturally sensitive educational efforts need to be directed towards the young to reduce adverse health risks associated with BN chewing.

Descriptions and photos of 14 old lacquerware boxes from Burma, Myanmar. The boxes are more than 100 years old and of exceptional quality, most likely from the Shan State. Some are betel boxes, and the majority is made from a base of horse hair and bamboo, lacquer, dyes and gold

The ‘lonely/low hero’ is a personage depicted initially as a pitiful, isolated, friendless, sad orphan or foundling, but who appears to prove himself to be a powerful representative of a high-ranking family as the story unwinds. We find those personages in different genres: ritual myths, epics, charms, curses and tales. Betel chewing as a cultural practice is of great importance in the depiction of key mythological figures, lonely heroes in particular.
The paper analyses the symbolism of betel chewing as compared to other chewing practices worldwide. Philippine folklore texts are being analysed to define motifs connected to the image of a lonely hero in the folklore of the Tinguian (Itneg), Kalinga, Yattuka (Kallahan), Ifugao and other highlanders of the Northern Philippines, and compares them to corresponding themes in Philippine non-Cordilleran mythologies and beyond.
Обобщающее исследование на стыке этноботаники, этнолингвистики, культурной антропологии и фольклористики, посвященное практике, мифологии, символике бетеля и других легких жевательных стимулянтов и релаксантов в традиционной и современной культуре народов мира.

This thesis is the first detailed geographic and ethnographic study of Papua New Guinea’s thriving betel nut trade. It tells the story of the trade of betel nut into the highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG), and examines the daily lives and interactions of the diverse collection of participants involved in the trade – the ‘betel people’ – and how they have contributed to the making of a flourishing, contemporary and indigenous market.
Betel nut is a stimulant that has long been produced, exchanged and consumed throughout lowland PNG, but was absent from the pre-colonial highlands. Since the 1960s increasing numbers of highlanders have started chewing betel nut which has given rise to a long-distance wholesale trade that connects rural lowland producers to the highland consumers. Betel nut is now the country’s most important domestic cash crop, and its sale and resale is a prominent, and potentially lucrative, livelihood activity for rural and urban people in both the lowlands and the highlands.
This thesis is based on thirteen months nomadic ethnographic fieldwork in which betel nut, and the actors that shape its trajectory, was followed from the lowland production areas into the highland marketplaces and beyond. I document the considerable scale and complexity of the trade, the efflorescence of intermediaries within it, and the high level of specialisation amongst its actors.
‘Following’ betel nut and betel people also foregrounds the importance of social relationships, and the associated processes of inclusion and exclusion, to shaping the structure and the dynamics of the trade. The highly competitive and opportunistic nature of the trade leads betel people to transact in the same places and often with the same people, and it encourages them to cultivate and nurture those relationships which provide security and enable access in new places. Betel people trade to make money, but I suggest that trade relationships regularly overflow the marketplace. Further, the transactions within the trade are routinely conceptualised as more than simple commodity transfers. I also seek to frame the trade in relation to the power asymmetries between different actors, and emphasise the diverse manifestations of cooperation and competition in trade negotiations.
Drawing on the growing literature within geography and anthropology concerned with the social embeddedness of ‘economic’ activity, this research emphasises that the making of markets is a dynamic and contested process, one that is always spatial, grounded in particular places. In doing so it contributes to better understanding marketplaces, livelihoods, and the creation of alternative modernities in contemporary PNG. The betel nut trade is full of contradictions and tensions, but also the aspirations of a great number of ‘grassroot’ Papua New Guineans.

Telah dilakukan penelitian pembuatan papan komposit dari serbuk upih dengan lem polyvinyl acetate (PVAc). Perbandingan takaran volume lem dan serbuk upih yaitu 1:3. Variasi sampel yaitu semua serbuk, tegak lurus arah serat dan sejajar arah serat. Pembuatan papan komposit dilakukan dengan tekanan 200,37 kgf/cm 2 pada suhu kempa 40 o C-100 o C. Parameter pengujian hasil papan komposit yaitu uji kerapatan partikel, uji keteguhan lentur dan uji keteguhan tarik. Standar yang digunakan yaitu SNI 03-2105-2006 Papan Partikel. Hasil pengujian kerapatan partikel untuk ; semua serbuk 1,27 gr/cm 3 , tegak lurus arah serat 1,19 gr/cm 3 , sejajar arah serat 1,38 gr/cm 3. Hasil pengujian keteguhan lentur untuk ; semua serbuk 154,18 kgf/cm 2 , tegak lurus arah serat 171,37 kgf/cm 2 , sejajar arah serat 317,07 kgf/cm 2. Hasil pengujian keteguhan tarik untuk ; semua serbuk 0,44 kgf/cm 2 , tegak lurus arah serat 0,67 kgf/cm 2 , sejajar arah serat 0,66 kgf/cm 2.

Kata kunci : papan komposit, papan partikel, upih pinang, kerapatan partikel, keteguhan lentur, keteguhan tarik.

The paper discusses European and non-European dental practices and views connected with them. Teeth blackening and filing traditionally practiced by non-European cultures appear to be an effective way of dental care. Betel chew ingredients, as well as other plants and minerals used for teeth blackening had improved
the state of teeth and gums, adding to preventing tropical diseases such as diarrhea and intestine parasites. Teeth whitening substances, on the contrary, until recently implied practices and substances that fatally ruined the dental system.
The condemnation of non-European dental practices is a part of colonial discourse still largely not abandoned. It goes with the general misrepresentation of traditional body modification practices as characteristic of “inferior races” by
racists, and the propagation of the universal Eurocentric beauty ideals by mass media in a globalized world.

The preparation of a betel quid generally involves the combination of slaked lime with two plant products: the seed of Areca catechu L. (‘areca nut’) and the leaf of Piper betle L. (‘betel leaf’). This paper aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on how the habit of betel chewing originated and was diffused across Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Pacific Islands before the common era. The limited biogeographical data available on the two plant species are consistent with a restricted natural distribution which was followed by a wide dispersal by human agency. A critical review of past archaeobotanical reports from South India to Papua New Guinea challenges some of the earliest dates claimed for betel chewing. By synthesizing evidence from the disciplines of archaeology, historical linguistics and textual analysis on the plants and the material culture of betel chewing, a picture emerges that is far more complex than had previously been suggested. Currently no single model of dispersal, such as the migration of Austronesian speakers, fully explains the transmission of A. catechu L. and P. betle L. across Asia. However, a number of biological and cultural factors can be identified that have facilitated the dynamic expansion of betel chewing across a wide geographic area up to the present.

This paper focus on chewing betel quid habit that dominantly happen in the Asia to Pacific region. Betel quid leaves traces of reddish-brown colour on the teeth. It is identified that dental stain was very common on teeth of prehistoric skeletal remains, for example in Thailand and Vietnam. Several studies have shown that chewing betel nut can cause diseases in the teeth and oral cavity. The purpose of this study is to describe the relationship between betel nut chewing and the emergence of tooth pathology in teeth from the prehistoric population from Lewoleba and Liang Bua. Ten individuals were observed using the macroscopic method. The results showed that consumption of betel nut (based on dental stains) was followed by attrition, periodontitis and even antemortem tooth loss.

ABSTRAK Mengkonsumsi sirih pinang adalah kebiasaan di wilayah Asia hingga Pasifik. Sirih pinang menyisakan jejak warna coklat kemerahan (dental stain) pada gigi geligi. Dental stain banyak diidentifikasi pada gigi geligi sisa rangka prasejarah, misalnya di Thailand dan Vietnam. Beberapa penelitian menunjukkan bahwa mengunyah sirih pinang dapat mengakibatkan penyakit pada gigi dan rongga mulut. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan hubungan mengkonsumsi sirih pinang dengan timbulnya patologi gigi geligi pada gigi geligi dari rangka prasejarah masyarakat Lewoleba dan Liang Bua. Sebanyak 10 individu diperiksa dengan menggunakan metode makroskopik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa konsumsi sirih pinang (berdasarkan dental stain) diikuti dengan atrisi, periodontitis bahkan antemortem tooth loss.

Статья посвящена символике жевания бетеля, одного из древнейших многофункциональных обычаев народов Юго-Восточной Азии и Тихоокеанского ареала. Цель публикации - раскрыть на северофилиппинском материале наиболее важные символические связи основных растительных компонентов жевательной смеси - ореха арековой пальмы и бетельной лозы. Особое внимание уделено двум функциям, характерным для всего ареала распространения обычая: бетель как посланник, посредник между миром людей и духов, и носитель жизни, символизирующий соединение мужского и женского начала и воспроизведение потомства. Коммуникативные, этикетные и ритуальные функции бетеля обусловлены связанными с ним мифологическими представлениями, основанными как на фармакологических свойствах растений и минеральных добавок, так и на их месте в символических классификациях, связывающих растения с жизненными субстанциями и миром материальных предметов, имеющих высокий семиотический статус и потому выступающих в виде объектов обмена и дарения. При общей тенденции к исчезновению, обусловленной давлением западной культуры, жевание бетеля продолжает развиваться, приобретает новые функции и даже завоевывает новые территории. Статья написана на материалах языка, этнографии и фольклора ифугао с привлечением данных по их соседям-горцам (калинга, бонтоков, тинггианов) и другим народам Филиппин (тагалов, маранао, висайя и др.). В работе использованы полевые материалы, собранные автором во время экспедиций на Филиппины 1995-2008 гг., а также коллекции МАЭ (Кунсткамера) РАН.

The paper treats about ethno botany of betel chewing as one of the most ancient multifunctional traditions of the South of Asia and the Pacific. Symbolic ties of the betel chew, as well as of its main plant and mineral components are defined on the basis of Northern Philippine highland cultures. The focus is on two functions that are characteristic of a much larger area where betel chewing is\was widespread: 1. betel as a go-between, a messenger from humans to gods and visa versa; 2. betel as a bearer of life, its components symbolizing male and female productive forces and initiating their union. In epics and mythology betel chewing results in miraculous conception and birth of a hero.
Communicative, etiquette and ritual functions of betel chew components are based on mythological characteristics ascribed to them, derived from their pharmacologic properties as well as from the place that these plants occupy in traditional folk taxonomies. Symbolic connection unites areca nuts with semen, blood and saliva; with gold and precious stones, that is, with material objects characterized with high semiotic status.
Despite the general tendency of being wiped out under the pressure of modern Western-oriented standards of culture, betel chewing is still alive, achieving new forms and functions and even demonstrating minor geographic expansion.
The paper is based on language, folklore and ethnographic materials primarily of the Ifugaos and the neighbouring highland ethnolinguistic groups of Northern Luzon (Kalingga, Bontok, Tingguian) and other peoples of the Philippines (Tagalog, Visaya, Maranaw etc.), including the author’s field materials from 1995-2008 and ethnographic collections of the Peter the Great Museum of anthropology and ethnography (Kunstkamera).
Статья посвящена символике жевания бетеля, одного из древнейших многофункциональных обычаев народов Юго-Восточной Азии и Тихоокеанского ареала. Цель публикации – раскрыть на северофилиппинском материале наиболее важные символические связи основных растительных компонентов жевательной смеси– ореха арековой пальмы и бетельной лозы. Особое внимание уделено двум функциям, характерным для всего ареала распространения обычая: бетель как посланник, посредник между миром людей и духов, и носитель жизни, символизирующий соединение мужского и женского начала и воспроизведение потомства. Коммуникативные, этикетные и ритуальные функции бетеля обусловлены связанными с ним мифологическими представлениями, основанными как на фармакологических свойствах растений и минеральных добавок, так и на их месте в символических классификациях, связывающих растения с жизненными субстанциями и миром материальных предметов, имеющих высокий семиотический статус и потому выступающих в виде объектов обмена и дарения. При общей тенденции к исчезновению, обусловленной давлением западной культуры, жевание бетеля продолжает развиваться, приобретает новые функции и даже завоевывает новые территории.
Статья написана на материалах языка, этнографии и фольклора ифугао с привлечением данных по их соседям-горцам (калинга, бонтоков, тинггианов) и другим народам Филиппин (тагалов, маранао, висайя и др.). В работе использованы полевые материалы, собранные автором во время экспедиций на Филиппины 1995-2008 гг., а также коллекции МАЭ (Кунсткамера) РАН.

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The custom of chewing betel is widespread among the 600 million people who live in South Asia, the Indochinese Peninsula, Malay Archipelago, and islands of the western Pacific. The very name of this psychoactive substance raises misunderstandings. Betel and its impact on the appearance of precancerous lesions in the oral cavity has been the subject of medical research. The literature on preparation, distribution, symbolism, and diverse cultures of taking betel is scarce. These topics could become a basis for many interesting anthropological, literary, and historical re-search.
I described some elements of the betel use cultures specific to Indonesia, Taiwan, and India. In Indonesia, women use betel much more often than men do since the latter have replaced it with cigarette smoking, while in Taiwan the stimulant is more popular among the men. Therefore specific and controversial marketing strategies were developed. Betel nut girls, scantily clad, sell it in transparent, lit kiosks. In India, the mass-produced and advertised in the media products – pan masala without tobacco and guthka containing it – have gained popularity in the recent decades. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, bans of production, sale, and con-sumption of guthka began to appear in states of India, in Maharashtra concerning also pan masala.

Background: Betel nut (BN) or areca nut (AN) chewing habits on its own or with other ingredients including chewing tobacco are highly prevalent in many South East Asian countries as well as among the migrants from these countries residing around the world. The major alkaloid arecoline in the BN has been found to carcinogenic and to be associated with a range of health risks, including negative effects on pregnancy outcomes. Pregnancy imposes stress on folate stores because of increased requirements for growth of maternal tissues, fetus, and placenta. Folate deficiency during pregnancy is a major public health concern as is associated with many adverse health outcomes including neural tube defects, low birth weight, preterm birth, and delayed maturation of the nervous system, growth retardation, and megaloblastic anemia. Objective: To investigate any association between BN consumption and folate status among pregnant women in rural Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: Data of 730 pregnant women aged 14-50 years from the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Intervention in Matlab (MINIMat) trial in Bangladesh were included in this study. Logistic regression analysis and analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were used. Results were adjusted for potential confounders. Results and Interpretation: Two-third (63%) of the women consumed BN and 17% had folate deficiency. The women who consumed BN combined with chewing tobacco were 2.57 times more likely to have folate deficiency (OR = 2.57; 95% CI = 1.23-5.36; P = 0.012;) and the women who consumed BN 2-3 times/day were 2.51 times more likely to develop folate deficiency among users (OR = 2.51; 95% CI = 1.07-5.92; P = 0.035). Mean serum folate levels were significantly lower among BN users as compared to nonusers. Conclusion: The results suggest that betel nut consumption combined with chewing tobacco is associated with lower serum folate level and folate deficiency among pregnant women in rural Bangladesh. Strategies are needed for prevention and control of betel nut consumption in order to prevent adverse health outcomes

Introduction to the collection of papers ‘Betel, kava, cola, chat’ gives the history of the project, main goals of publication, its structure and perspectives.
The project is based on the questioner (program) submitted to the authors by the editor, Maria V. Stanyukovich. The participants of the collection of papers were free to choose the aspect of their study, either following the general structure of
the questioner or concentrating on one or several points according to their liking.
The collection of papers consists of six chapters and a supplement. The chapters 1–4 treat about betel, kava, cola and chat (Ethiopian variation of khat). Chapter 5 is on the chewing stimulants in Japan and Central Asia; chapter 6 is about semantics and practice of chewing, spitting and teeth filing and blackening. The Supplement contains materials for the catalogue of objects related to the topic of the present publication, in the collections of Peter the Great Museum of
Anthropology and Ethnography.

Betel quid is a carcinogenic psychoactive preparation, often containing tobacco, which is widely consumed in Myanmar. Studies on betel quid dependence have illuminated betel quid chewers’ demographics and reasons for chewing, but dependence formation is not fully understood. This study aims to describe the social context, patterns of use, and subjective experiences of betel quid chewing among novice and dependent chewers, and to analyze the hidden structural factors that contribute to the emergence of betel quid dependence. Data on the subjective and objective aspects of betel quid chewing were collected through a five-month ethnographic study in Mandalay, Myanmar. Betel quid chewers were recruited for indepth interviews and focus group discussions. The data were analyzed within a critical medical anthropology framework. Male betel quid chewers begin to chew out of curiosity and social pressure. They believe that chewing boosts their sexual attractiveness and increases their negotia...

This paper presents an evaluation of the skeletal remains from Lobang Jeragan, a small cave cemetery in the Sarawak region of island Malaysia, Southeast Asia. Excavated in 1961, Lobang Jeragan contained 82 individuals buried in primary, secondary and manipulated graves. A range of mortuary behaviours were observed, including the application of haematite, cremation, a variety of material remains and coffin burial.
An osteological analysis of these remains was undertaken, identifying cultural modifications and pathological lesions. The remains were highly fragmented; however it was possible to age the majority of individuals. Sex estimation was more difficult, with just over a quarter of individuals at least provisionally sexed. The Lobang Jeragan results were then compared with the skeletal assemblage from the West Mouth, a contemporaneous site a few kilometres north. It is clear that the sites share many similarities in mortuary treatment, with the inclusion of haematite, manipulation of the skull in some graves, jar burials and extended primary graves. However, there are also significant differences in terms of individuals represented – the West Mouth has significantly lower numbers of subadults, potentially as a result of preservation bias.
Pathological lesions observed in the Lobang Jeragan population include an endocranial lesion, areas of nodular bone, dental abscesses and carious lesions. Cultural modifications were also observed, such as betel staining on the anterior dentition, interpreted here as for aesthetic effect.
The Lobang Jeragan population provides a wealth of information regarding the prehistory of Southeast Asia. The osteological and palaeopathological analyses have provided an indication of the value inherent in the bioarchaeology of this area.

The article deals with the references to the practice of betel consumption in “The Journey” of Ibn Battuta, an Arab traveler of the 14th century. These mentions indicate the wide spread of betel chewing in the countries around the Indian Ocean in the Middle Ages, and also may serve as a source of data on its ritual and etiquette functions.

Aim. The aim of this scientific study was to delineate tooth wear captured in part of anterior mandible of individual remains as a result of excavation done in several sites such as in Liang Bua, Lewoleba, and Melolo of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The focus of the investigation was to identify the pattern of tooth wear on mandibular incisors. Materials and Method. The investigation was carried out upon seven mandibles of individuals excavated from the three sites. Macroscopic observation was occupied to identify the stages of tooth wear and wear type on mandibular incisors. Result. The result depicts high level of stages of occlusal surface wear and oblique wear type on incisors of subjects acquired from Liang Bua, Lewoleba, and Melolo. Conclusion. Such evidence implies that the occurrence of high level of stages of occlusal surface wear can be indicated to have correlation with meat based diet. Meanwhile, the occurrence of oblique tooth wear suggests its correlation with an activity of chewing 'Sirih Pinang' or betel-nut chewing, a kind of betel vine popularly done by individual dwelling in those areas. Also, an indication of intentional dental modification upon incisors was found on subjects acquired from both Liang Bua and Lewoleba.

The ethics of betel nut use in Taiwan are examined in this article. It first presents scientific facts about the betel quid, its consumption and negative health consequences and then analyses the cultural background and economic factors contributing to its popularity in Asia. Governmental and institutional attempts to curb betel nut cultivation, distribution and sales are also described. Finally, the bioethical implications of this often ignored subject are considered.

In Papua New Guinea (PNG) marketplaces are central to the lives and livelihoods of both rural and urban people. But they are equally sites in which some people belong and others do not. In this paper I use PNG’s betel nut marketplaces as a case study to examine the processes of access and exclusion that characterise PNG’s marketplaces, and the everyday struggles for livelihoods and control that shape these spaces. While the state is part of this narrative – an ephemeral and occasionally violent presence – the focus is on those smaller struggles amongst local actors that determine who may trade and where. From this, marketplaces emerge not as public spaces, open to all, but as spaces of insecurity and enclosure. This, I argue, has important implications for the growing number of development interventions in marketplaces in the region.

At the Faculties of Dentistry in Chiang Mai, Thailand (CM), and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KL), 234 and 233 consecutive out-patients of mean ages 33.8 and 31.0 yr, respectively, were examined for the presence of oral mucosal lesions. Tobacco in some form was regularly used by 31.7% and 27.5% of the study populations in CM and KL, respectively. Cigarette smoking was the predominant habit. In CM three persons chewed betel quids and nine smoked banana leaf cigars daily. In addition, there were 24 habitual chewers of tea leaves (miang). In KL six persons chewed betel quids daily. In CM and KL three cases each (1.3%) of tobacco-associated leukoplakias were found. In KL an additional idiopathic leukoplakia was registered. One and three cases of betel related lesions were found in CM and KL, respectively. One case of a squamous cell carcinoma was found in a 45-yr-old Indian woman in KL who had been chewing betel with tobacco daily for many years. High prevalence figures were found for lichen planus, 3.8% in CM and 2.1% in KL, and an extremely high one, 48.3%, in CM for episodes of aphthous ulcers experienced during the last 2 yr. Comparatively low prevalence figures were found for herpes labialis. As could be expected melanin pigmentation was prevalent while only low figures were encountered for denture-related lesions and amalgam tattoos.

Introduction: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have previously found to be highly tissue- or disease-specific biomarkers with clinical applicability. However, the role of miRNAs in OSCC progression has yet to be well-studied. Here, we demonstrated the use of FFPE specimens in microarray profiling and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) approaches to identify miRNAs that are differentially expressed in OSCC compared with non-tumour tissues.Materials and methods: Four OSCC and four non-tumour FFPE tissues were obtained from the Malaysian Oral Cancer Database and Tumour System (MOCDTBS), coordinated by OCRCC-UM and profiled using Agilent 8 × 15 k mammalian miRNA microarray. Based on microarray results, TaqMan miRNA Assay (qPCR) is underway to validate the selected differentially expressed miR-31, miR-7, miR-375 and miR-151-3p with an endogeneous control RNU-44 using an independent set of FFPE tissue (seven OSCC and three non-tumuor tissues). Biological functions of targeted miRNAs were analyzed using GeneGO Pathway software.Results: Analysis of profiling identified 19 significantly up-regulated miRNAs (2-fold change) and four significantly down-regulated miRNAs (2-fold change). The targeted miR-31, miR-7 and miR-151-3p were up-regulated whilst miR-375 was down-regulated in OSCC compared with non-tumour tissues. These initial microarray profiling results had been subsequently confirmed in qPCR validation except miR-151-3p, which was validated as down-regulated miRNA.Discussion: Interestingly, we have identified miRNA targets that can potentially be exploited to differentiate between betel-quid exposure OSCC with no risk habit related OSCC. These miRNA targets were found to interact with protein BuBRl in regulation of cellular component organization (p0.05, GeneGo Pathway software). BuBR1 can be modified by arecoline in betel nut leads to abnormal cell cycle progression. Further analyses with larger sample set are on-going to validate the preliminary result and examine if the betel-quid exposures related with OSCC carcinogenesis may be acting through a specific miRNA alterations to lead to a malignant phenotypes. This better understanding of the contribution of miRNA to OSCC may aid in earlier diagnosis, improved prognosis, and novel targets for therapeutic intervention.