Opposition is growing from various stakeholders of arecanut, including from a senior farm scientist, to the reported demand by the MP from Godda constituency in Jharkhand Nihikant Dubey to prohibit the use of arecanut for human consumption claiming it caused deadly diseases like cancer.
A section of media reported last week that Mr. Dubey, representing the BJP, wrote to the PM listing a number of harmful effects consumption of arecanut on human health and urged prohibition of its use. He, however, has said that it can be allowed for use in religious ceremonies.
Senior farm scientist and former Director of the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasaragod P. Chowdappa, Puttur-based All India Areca Growers’ Association and Sirsi-based Totagars’ Cooperative Sale Society (TSS) Ltd. have strongly opposed the demand. Earlier, the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd. had condemned the demand.
Mr. Chowdappa, who is now VC, BEST Innovation University, Anantapur, told The Hindu that arecanut in its pure form is not dangerous but has a plethora of medicinal properties including curing ulcers, wounds and even cancer. Quoting from the book ‘Arecanut’ edited by him and released in Bengaluru last month, he said that arecoline hydrobromide, a major active principle of arecanut, is found to arrest the growth of cancer cells. The book has quoted this from a recent study at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, U.S.
The book said: “The antioxidant activity of arecanut might play an active role in repairing DNA damage in cancer cells. While investigating the effect of aqueous and various organic extracts from different parts of Areca catechu on oxidative DNA damage in human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells, it was noticed that the methanol extract of eight-month-old arecanut husk showed a dose dependent inhibition of comet formation while other solvent extracts did not (Phaechamud et al., 2009).”
Quoting from the book he further said that the adverse effects reported in association with arecanut chewing might be due to several other factors such as small sample size, the role of other ingredients used in the preparation of betel quid, the quality of arecanuts (including contaminations and adulterations) used for making different preparations of chewing products, etc. Studies showed that at lower concentration (1.5 to 5 g/ kg body weight) arecanut does not cause and cancer. Arecanut was found to arrest the growth and multiplication of several human cancer cells such as MCP-7 breast cancer cells, SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells and SMMC-7721 liver cancer cells (Anajwala et al., 2010; Xing et al., 2010).
Mr. Chowdappa said that arecanut has been widely used in clinical practices in China and other Southeast Asian countries. It has an important place in the ancient Indian system of medicine such as Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy. The WHO has listed out as many as 25 different beneficial effects of arecanut to mankind. “It has potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, antiulcer, hypolipidemic, antidiabetic and neuroprotective properties,” he said.
Urging the Union government to instil confidence among the arecanut growers on the future of the crop, the General Secretary of All-India Areca Growers’ Association Mahesh Puchchappady said in a release that such statements and demands are being reported from various corners of society every now and then. The government should conduct a scientific study on the impact of arecanut on human health, he said.
In a statement, Ravish Hegde, General Manager of TSS Ltd., said that various national and international studies by different institutes have highlighted the beneficial properties of arecanut.
Arecanut spread over 0.702 million hectares in world
Currently, the production of arecanut in the world is about 0.854 million tonnes from an area of 0.702 million hectares. Arecanut is primarily grown in India, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. India ranks first in both area (49%) and production (50%) of arecanut. In India, arecanut is cultivated in an area of 472 thousand hectares with an annual production of 735 thousand tonnes, mainly confined to the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, West Bengal and Meghalaya. This crop offers immense opportunities to make a life better, as nearly 84% arecanut holdings belong to a small group of small and marginal farmers. Arecanut provides a decent livelihood for more than three million people and assured employment of 10 million man days annually.
