Betel nut is also calledAreca NutIt is the mature seed of the betel nut, a plant of the palm family. Its pericarp is the traditional Chinese medicine known as Da Fu Pi. The betel nut chewed by people in the south is its young fruit. It is mainly produced in Hainan Island, Fujian, Yunnan, and other regions. The fruit is harvested when ripe in winter and spring, the pericarp is removed, dried in the sun, soaked thoroughly, sliced, and used in medicine.
I. Efficacy of Betel Nut:
Betel nut tastes pungent and bitter, warm. It belongs to the stomach and large intestine meridians. Its effects canKilling parasites, removing food retention, promoting qi flow, inducing diuresisIt is a commonly used product among digestive and guiding medicines.
Commonly used forAbdominal pain due to parasitic infestation, dysentery with food stagnation, tenesmus, edema and beriberitreatment of conditions such as
Summary of Famous Works by Renowned Authors:
Bie Lu: "Primarily disperses grains and expels water, eliminates phlegm accumulations, kills three types of parasites and hidden corpses, treats inch-long white worms."
"Treatise on Medicinal Properties": "It promotes the flow of qi and relieves stagnation in the five zang and six fu organs, breaks up hard masses and fullness of qi, reduces edema, and treats heart pain and accumulation of wind and blood."
Compendium of Materia Medica: "Treats diarrhea and dysentery with tenesmus, various pains in the chest and abdomen, qi constipation in urination and defecation, phlegm and asthma with rapid breathing, cures various types of malaria, and wards off miasmic diseases."
Medication Principles: "Bitter to break stagnation, pungent to disperse pathogens, specifically breaking stagnant qi and directing it downward."
Jade Qiao's Explanation of Medicinals: "Betel nut is pungent and warm, it lowers qi and breaks stagnation, grinds hardness and moves stasis, eliminates old stagnant qi, it is also a useful and good material."
"Compendium of Materia Medica": "It purges the high-lying qi in the chest, causing it to descend. Its nature is as firm as iron and stone, capable of sinking various medicines to the lowest regions. It breaks through hardness, eliminates distension, promotes digestion, resolves phlegm, expels water, dispels wind, kills parasites, and sobers up from alcohol. It treats phlegm accumulation, hard masses, miasmic disorders, malaria, dysentery, edema, and beriberi. It also addresses qi stagnation in the bowels and bladder, as well as tenesmus."
II. Compatibility and Application of Areca Nut:
1. For food stagnation and qi stagnation, abdominal distension and constipation, and tenesmus after dysentery and diarrhea, etc. Betel nut is pungent and dispersing, bitter and discharging, capable of promoting qi and guiding stagnation, and also can relieve diarrhea and promote bowel movements, making it a commonly used medicine for dredging the stagnation of the six fu organs. For treating food stagnation and abdominal distension, it is often combined with rhubarb, green tangerine peel, and costus root, etc.Muxiang Binglang Wan。
If treating constipation due to qi stagnation and tenesmus after diarrhea and dysentery, it is often combined with Aucklandia root, achieving the effect of "treating diarrhea with purgatives" and complementing each other.
If treating food stagnation and indigestion, fried betel nut is often combined with hawthorn, medicated leaven, and malt, which is the traditional Chinese medicineFour ImmortalsIts ability to promote digestion and resolve food stagnation is even stronger.
2. For conditions such as edema and beriberi with swelling and pain. Areca nut has the function of promoting qi circulation and inducing diuresis. For treating excess syndrome of edema, generalized edema, dyspnea, thirst, oliguria, and constipation, it is often combined with Areca peel, Phytolacca root, Poria peel, Alisma, etc., namelyShu Zuo Yin Zi。
If treating cold-damp foot qi, flowing to the foot and leg, with unbearable pain, it is often combined with papaya, evodia fruit, dried tangerine peel, platycodon root, etc., namelyJiming Powder。
If treating qi congestion, blockage and obstruction, urinary dribbling and retention, and dull pain below the navel, it is often combined with Xu Changqing, Imperatae Rhizoma, Malvae Fructus, Talcum, etc., namelyXu Changqing Decoction。
For treating carbuncles, swellings, and toxins, whether ulcerated or not, grind equal parts of betel nut and coptis into powder, mix with egg white, and apply externally for good effect.
3. Used for various intestinal parasitic diseases. Betel nut can both kill parasites and have a laxative effect, which helps expel the parasites, especially effective in expelling and killing tapeworms. For treating tapeworm disease, it is most commonly used in combination with pumpkin seeds. Specific method: Have the patient first eat a certain amount of roasted pumpkin seeds on an empty stomach. After about two hours, when the intestinal tapeworms have consumed the pumpkin seeds and become paralyzed, with their mouthparts detached, then administer a decoction of betel nut to further kill the parasites. After another half hour, administer Glauber's salt to promote the expulsion of the parasites from the body.
Cheng Xinghai said: "There is a lack of effective remedies for lice in pubic hair. Washing with betel nut decoction can eliminate them."
III. Usage and Dosage of Betel Nut:
Betel nut is often used in decoctions, as well as in pills and powders. Due to its strong digestive and guiding effects, the dosage should not be excessive. For decoctions, the usual dosage ranges from a few grams to over ten grams; for insecticidal purposes, it can be used in amounts exceeding several tens of grams.
Generally used for promoting digestion and moving qi, it is advisable to stir-fry before use.
Wang Ang said, "The chicken heart with a long and pointed shape, when broken, shows a brocade pattern, which is considered good."
It is also said: "In the Lingnan region, where miasma is prevalent, betel nut is used as a substitute for tea. It has four effects: it can sober the drunk, intoxicate the sober, satisfy the hungry, and make the full feel hungry. However, it depletes the visceral qi and should be avoided in areas without miasma."
IV. Application Precautions of Betel Nut:
Betel nut is pungent and dispersing, consuming qi, thus it is a medicine for digestion and elimination.Spleen deficiency with loose stools or qi deficiency with sinking should avoid taking; pregnant women should also use with caution。
Huang Yuanyu said, "If qi deficiency causes fullness, then it will harm the righteous and benefit the pathogenic, and no effect can be achieved."
Wang Ang said: "Excessive consumption will damage the genuine qi."
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Attached Medicinal MaterialsThe Efficacy and Application of Areca Peel
Pericarpium Arecae is the fruit peel of Areca catechu, also known asBig MaoPungent in taste, slightly warm in nature. It belongs to the spleen, stomach, and large intestine meridians. Its effects includePromoting Qi Flow and Relieving Distension, Promoting Diuresis and Reducing Edema。
Commonly used forDampness obstructing qi stagnation, abdominal distension and oppression, unsmooth bowel movements, edema and fullness, beriberi and edematreatment of conditions such as
For treating general edema, chest and abdominal distension, difficulty in urination, and edema during pregnancy, Areca Peel can promote qi circulation and diuresis. It is often combined with Tangerine Peel, Poria Peel, Ginger Peel, and Mulberry Root Bark, known asFive-Peel Decoction。
If treating water disease with swelling and fullness, upper body panting and rapid breathing, or obvious swelling below the waist, it can be combined with Acanthopanax bark, Lycium root bark, Poria skin, and ginger skin, also known asFive-Peel Decoction。
The usual dosage of Pericarpium Arecae in decoction is several grams to more than ten grams. Because it promotes the flow of qi and facilitates diuresis,Use with caution in cases of qi deficiency and physical weakness; use with caution during pregnancy。
Huang Yuanyu said, "Pericarpium Arecae is specifically used to treat skin swelling and is also very unsuitable for those with deficiency."
Wang Ang said: "It treats edema, beriberi, abdominal distension, phlegm obstruction, miasmic malaria, and cholera. It is contraindicated for those with qi deficiency."
