Piper betle, Nagavali

Betel Pepper, Betel Leaf
Nagavali (Ayurveda)
Paan, Tanbul, Tambol (Unani

Piper betle
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, vol. 59, vol. 6 (1832)

Fresh Betel leaf for sale on the streets of Kolkata (Adam, 2019)

Botanical name:

Piper betle

Parts used:

Leaf

Temperature & Taste:

Warm, dry. Pungent

Uses:

1. Clears Wind-Cold:
-Fever (API)
-Cough and Cold; Cough in children with difficulty breathing
-respiratory catarrh; Hoarseness (API)
-acute Headache from Wind-Cold

2. Clears Cold-Phlegm, Stops Cough: (TCM, Ayurveda, Unani)
-Cough, Asthma

3. Moves Blood, Disperse Swellings:
-Bruising, Trauma; Swelling from Trauma
-Tumors, Fibroid Tumors
-Heart disease (API, Unani)
-used for Anemia in Unani

4. Moves Qi, Clears Damp:
-abdominal distention, Colic, bloating;
-promotes digestion; Poor digestion and Nausea (API)
-chewed as a stimulant
-Cramps
-Edema, fluid swelling
-Wind-Damp joint pain; Rheumatism

5. Resists Poison, Stops Itching
-Toxic sores; Eczema; Pruritus (API)
-Leprosy, Elephantiasis
-Syphilis
-Burns and Scalds
-Snakebite

6. Externally:
-leaves applied to the Breast stop Milk
-leaves applied topically to glandular swellings
-the steam in used in inhalations in Unani
-Tonsillitis, gargle the decoction
-Toothache (Unani, Ayurveda)

Dose:

1 leaf daily is the traditional dose
Of the Leaf Juice: 10–15mls. (API)

Comment:

1. It should not be confused with Betel nut, Areca catechu
2. Betel leaf is used with Betel nut and lime as the masticating drug called Pan throughout India and Asia.
3. As a Folk Remedy it is regarded as Aphrodisiac

Main Combinations:

1. As a tonic, the leaf is chewed with some Saffron wrapped inside it
2. As a tonic and aphrodisiac:
i. Betel leaf with Saffron, Clove, Long Pepper, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Withania, Asparagus racemosus, Orchid
ii. Betel leaf with Withania, Mucuna, Pyrethrum, Sida, Nux Vomica processed, Shilajit, Saffron
3. As a tonic for young women (after menstruation has begun), Betel leaf is taken with Turmeric in Indonesia. It is said to keep them healthy, slim and beautiful.
4. Asthma, Calotropis, Black Pepper, made into pills with Betel leaf juice

Major Formulas:

Cautions:

None noted