| Gen info
There is an estimated total of 1200 species of Piper in the pantropical and neotropical regions. Works on Philippine wild Piperaceae have been extensive. Candole (1910) reported 133 species of Piper and 26 of Peperomia; Merill (1923), 115 Piper, 25 Peperomia, and Quisumbing (1930), documented 87 Piper and 21 Peperomia.
Botany
Ikmo is a dioecious, smooth climbing
vine reaching a height of 2 to 4 meters. Upper leaves are usually oblong-elliptic, oblong-ovate or ovate, 6 to 17.5 cm long, 3.5 to 10 cm wide, mostly 7-plinerved, smooth on both surfaces. Male spikes are subpendulous, slender, 7 to 13.5 cm long, and 2 to 3.5 mm in diameter. Rachis is hairy. Stamens are two, stalked, 0.75 to 1 mm long; and the anthers reniform. Female spikes, when mature, are red, fleshy, oblong to elongated oblong, 3 to 8 cm long, and 0.5 to 1 cm thick. Rachis is hairy, and the bracts stalkless, peltate, with a smooth disk, transversely oblong to suborbicular, and about 1 cm wide. Fruit is coalescing, fully embeded in the pulp and concrescent with the rachis. Seeds are smooth, oblong to globose-obovoid, 2.25 to 2.6 mm long, and about 2 mm in diameter. Stigmas are 4 to 6, and rarely, 3.
Distribution
- Cultivated throughout
the Philippines.
- Wild in most provinces of Luzon.
- Found in India to Malaya.
Parts
utilized and preparation
Vines and leaves.
May be collected throughout the year.
Rinse, cut into pieces, sun-dry.
Constituents
- Chief constituent of the
leaves is the volatile oil, Betel oil.
- Contains two phenols, betelphenol (chavibetol) and chavhicol.
- Leaves reported to yield an alkaloid: arakene, with properties similar to cocaine.
- Volatile oil, 0.8 - 1.8% - chavicol, betelphenol, eugenol, allyl pyrocatechin,
terpene, cineol, caryophyllene, cadinene, menthone.
- Chemical compositions of essential oil differ: safrole in the leaf, stalk, stem and root, ß-phellandrene in the fruit.
- Younger leaves reported to yield more essential oil.
- Leaf and other plant parts have yielded active compounds: hydroxychavicol, hydroxychavicol acetate, allypyrocatechol, chavibetol, piperbetol, methylpiperbetol, piperol A and piperol B.
Properties
- Pungent tasting
and warming.
- Leaves considered antitussive, carminative, astringent (juice of leaves with oil), stimulant, expectorant, antiseptic, sialagogue, stomachic, febrifuge and aphrodisiac.
- Chavicol considered an antiseptic, twice as strong and isometric with eugenol.
- Characteristic odor of leaves and oil is due to chavicol.
- Relieves gastrointestinal disorders.
- Betel oil is a light-yellow to dark-brown liquid, often aromatic, somewhat creosotelike in odor, with a sharp burning taste.
- As a masticatory, leaves described as warm, aromatic and bitter.
Uses
Folkloric
· In the Philippines, fresh, crushed leaves used as antiseptic for cuts and wounds.
· Leaves, together with lime and betel nut, constitute the Filipino's masticatory. Its use believed to help preserve the teeth and a prophylactic against stomach complaints.
· Leaves greased with with lard or sesame oil, used by Filipinos as carminative; applied to the abdomen of childre suffering from gastric disorders.
· Juice of leaves used as stomachic.
· In China, roots, leaves and fruits considered carminative, stimulant, corrective, and prophylactic; used for the prevention and treatment of malaria.
· Used for rheumatic bone
pains
· Gastric pain due to exposure to wind, indigestion.
· Flatulence or tympanism: Spread oil on leaf, warm, and apply
on abdomen.
· Warm poultice of leaves and oil (coconut) applied to chest of children for catarrhal and pulmonary affections, congestion and other affections of the liver.
· Leaves used as resolvent for glandular swellings.
· Oil used as gargle or as inhalant in diphtheria.
· In India, leaves are warmed and applied in layers to arrest secretion of milk.
· Leaves applied to the temples to relieve headache.
· Chewing betel leaves early in the morning done to remove foulness of the mouth, sweeten the breath and improve the voice.
· In China, oil used as counterirritant in swellings, bruises, painful sores and enlarged glands.
· Used for bronchial asthma.
· Dosage: use 9 to 15 gms dried material or 30 to 60 gms fresh
material in decoction.
· Juice of leaves used as stomachic and febrifuge.
· Applied as a poultice (dikdik-tapal) on the stomach of infants for
colic; for skin inflammation.
· In India, leaves used for treating eczema, lymphangitis, asthma and rheumatism.
· Paste of crushed leaves applied to cuts and wounds.
· Roots with black pepper used to produce sterility in women.
· Oil used for inflammation of the throat, larynx and bronchi; also, used as a gargle and inhalation in diphtheria.
Others
- A ritual masticatory – The Filipinos, Hindus, Malays, Siamese, Cambodians, Annamites and Chinese use the leaves as a masticatory. In the Philippines, it is dabbed with small amounts of apog (lime)
and wrapped around a (scraped) betel nut, chewed as "nga-nga." Also known as buyo or hitsu.
Studies
 •Anti-Platelet Aggravating
Factory: Evaluation of
Piper betle on Platelet Activating Factor (PAF) Receptor Binding Activities:
Results showed antagonistc activity towards the PAF (platelet activating
factor) in rabbit platelet receptor binding studies.
• Phenolics / Anti-Photosensitizer:
Inhibitory property of the Piper betel phenolics against photosensitization-induced
biological damages: PB phenolics,
allylpyrocatechol (APC) may play a role in protecting biological systems
against damage by eliminating O2 generated from certain endogenous photosensitizers.
• Antioxidant / Hepatoprotective:
Influence of Piper betle on Hepatic Marker Enzymes and Tissue Antioxidant
Status in Ethanol-Treated Wistar Rats: Results indicate P. betle provide
a significant hepatoprotective and antioxidant effect.
• Antibacterial:
Study showed PB had a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against
all test pathogens, including Rastonia, Xanthomonas and Erwinia. Test
also showed that PB solvent extract had an action superior to streptomycin.
• Hepatoprotective / Chemopreventive / Anti-Liver Fibrosis: Protection
effect of piper betel leaf extract against carbon tetrachloride-induced
liver fibrosis in rats: Study supports
a chemopreventive potential of PB leaves against liver fibrosis.
• Antioxidant:
(1) Study showed the extract to inhibit the radiation-induced
lipid peroxidation process effectiviely with elevation of the antioxidant
status in the study animals. (2) The frequent blood transfusions in HbE-beta thalassemia cause an iron overload that triggers an enhanced generation of free radicals. The study showed the ethanolic extract of Piper betle has promising antioxidant activity against erythrocytes from patients with HbE-beta thalassemia.
•
Chemical Constituents / Insect Attractant
Property: Study yielded chavibetol and
B-sitosterol from the petroleum ether extract and allylpyrocatechol
from the methanol extract. Field tests in a cornfield using traps containing
the extracts did not detech adult moths of Ostrinia salentialis.
•
Pro-apoptoti Effect / Anti-Leishmaniasis:
In a comparative in vitro anti-leishmanial activity
of methanolic extracts from two landraces of Piper betle. The PB-BM
(P betle landrace Bangla Mahoba) selectively inhibited both stages of
Leishmania parasites without macrophage cytotoxicity. The efficacy mediated
through apoptosis is probably due to higher content of eugenol.
•
Bacteriostatic / Dental Plaque:
(1) A study investigating the bacteriostatic effect
of Piper betle and P guajava showed both extracts have bacteriostatic
effect on the plaque bacteria through suppression of growth and propagation
of cells. Results suggest the decoction of plants would be a suitable
if used in the control of dental plaque. (2) Results of study showed the crude extract of P betle leaves may exert anticariogenic activities related to a decrease in acid production and changes to the ultrastructure of S mutans.
• Antihyperglycemic
/ Diabetes: Study evaluated the effect of P betle on
glucose metabolish since it is consumed as betel-quid after meals. Results
showed that P betle intake infuences glucose metabolism beneficially.
• Antioxidant
in STZ-Diabetic Rats: Study showed the leaf suspension of P betle showed significant antioxidant effects in STZ diabetic rats.
• Potential Natural Antioxidant: Study was carried out on CEE (cold ethanolic extract), HWE (hot water extract) and EO (essential oil) of the leaves of P betle grown in Sri Lanka. The initial free radical scavenging activity was higher in CEE. There were no deviation sin the the antioxidant activity of the 3 extracts up to 12 months. CEE extended the shelf-life of potato chips and increased the stability of Aloe gel.
• Carcinogenicity: Study of rats on rats fed a dry powder of betel nuts, leaves and lime showed epidermal thickening in the upper digestive tracts in rats fed the betel nut mixed with lime and the betel leaves diet. A forestomach papilloma was seen in one rat on betel leaves diet. The epidermal changes were scarcely seen in rats on either betel nut or normal diet alone.
• Allypyrocatechol / Gastroprotective / Anti-Ulcer: The piper betel phenol, allypyrocatechol, its major antioxidant constituent, showed it can protect against indomethacin-induced gastric ulceration due to its antioxidant and mucin protecting properties.
• Neuroprotective in Brain Alcohol Toxicity: The brain of ethanol-treated rats exhibited increased levels of lipids, lipid peroxidation and disturbances in antioxidant defenses. Study showed neuroprotective effects of P betle in experimetally induced alcohol toxicity.
• Antibacterial / Antifungal / Essential Oil: Essential oil from common betel was against against E coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staph aureus and Strep pyogenes. The major compound in the oil from the leaf, stem, stalk and root was saffrole; from the fruit, ß-phellandrene. Antifungal activity against Clodosporium sp. indicate the essential oil possesses at least one fungicidal compound.
• Antihistaminic / Essential Oil: Study was done of P. betel ethanolic extract and essential oil on its effects on histamine aerosol-induced bronchoconstriction in whole guinea pig. Results conclude the ethanolic extract and essential oil possess antihistaminic activity.
• Skin Antiseptic: Study evaluated the effectiveness of a 20% Piper betle leaf infusion as an antiseptic solution in pre-surgery cataract patients. Results showed the infusion to have an antiseptic potential. However, the 10% povidone-iodine solution was more effective antiseptic capability.
• Anti-Ulcer / Wound Healing / Antioxidant: Study showed a significant healing effect on NSAID-induced peptic ulcer in albino rats. The healing action was attributed to the free radical scavenging activity of the plant extract. APC, one of the phenol constituents showed significant protection against indomethacin-induced ulcers in Sprague-Dawley rats. The protection was correlated with antioxidative and mucin-protecting properties.
Concerns
• Contact Dermatitis: Betel quid assembly is commonly causes contact dermatitis, most
of it is irritant caused by alkaline slaked lime (apog). Occasional
cases are caused by the P betle inflorescence.
• Betel Chewer's Cancer: Chronic users have been warned on observed cases of buccal cancer.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
