Betel pepper
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Betel Pepper ( Piper betle ) |
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Betelpfeffer or betel ( Piper betle ) is a plant from the genus pepper in the family of piperaceae (Piperaceae). The original home of this plant species is unknown, perhaps it comes from the biogeographical area of Malesia . Today it is also grown on the entire Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia , where it is called पान pān (Pan) in Hindi , also called Paan in Anglicising . Its leaves are used in Ayurvedic medicine , in South Asia they are chewed together with slaked lime , spices and betel nuts (see Sirih-Pinang : Paan).
description
Appearance and leaf
The betel pepper grows as an evergreen , perennial climbing plant and climbs about one meter high. The trailing, somewhat woolly hairy stem axis has a diameter of 2.5 to 5 mm and forms roots at the nodes.
The alternately arranged leaves are divided into leaf sheath, petiole and leaf blade. The stipule-like leaf sheath, called propyll, is about 1/3 as long as the petiole and when the leaf falls off the propyll leaves a ring-shaped leaf scar at each node. The 2 to 5 cm long petiole is very finely hairy, powdery and downy. The simple, paper-like to more or less leathery leaf blade is more or less symmetrical, with a length of 7 to 15 cm and a width of 5 to 11 cm mostly ovate to ovoid-elongated with a heart-shaped base, but which are at the top of the stem axis sometimes elliptical with a rounded base, the upper end is always pointed. The underside of the leaf is densely hairy and there the leaf veins are very fine, powdery hairy. The top of the leaf is bare. There are seven main veins, the top pair of which arises 0.7 to 2 cm above the base of the spade, the others arise at the base of the spade. There are clearly recognizable network cores.
Inflorescence, flower and fruit
The betel pepper is dioeciously separate sexes ( diocesan ). The flowering period in China extends from May to July. The annual inflorescences arise opposite the leaf axils. The male inflorescences are almost as long as the leaf blades during anthesis and their inflorescence stems are almost as long as the petioles. Your inflorescence axis is hairy downy. Their bracts are more or less sessile and with a width of 1 to 1.3 mm more or less circular, rarely obovate or shield-shaped. The male flowers contain two stamens. Their thick stamens are about as long as the kidney-shaped anthers. The female inflorescences are about 1 cm in diameter and 3 to 5 cm in length longer than the fruit. Your fleshy inflorescence axis is densely hairy downy. The upper ovary is partially enveloped by the inflorescence axis and grown together with it. The upper end of the ovary is tomentose. There are four or five free, felty hairy stigmas per female flower.
The drupes are fused into stalk-round, fleshy collective fruits, which are hairy tomentose at their upper end and turn reddish in color when ripe.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 42, 52, 58, 64, 78 or 195.
use
Betel pepper comes in different varieties, the leaves of which also differ in taste. The best betel leaves are those of the “Magadhi” variety (from the Magadha region ), which is grown around Patna in Bihar .
Betel leaves are used as a stimulant and an antiseptic . In Ayurvedic medicine, they are said to have an aphrodisiac effect. In various Southeast Asian countries, betel pepper is used as a remedy for headaches, toothache, arthritis and joint pain, but also as an antibiotic or for digestive problems.
In addition to the Ayurvedic medicinal use of plant parts, the leaves of betel pepper are chewed as mouth fresheners in India and parts of Southeast Asia. The active substances of the betel essential oil contained in the leaves include eugenol , chavicol and eucalyptol, as well as terpenes .
For this purpose, lime ( calcium hydroxide ) slaked in betel leaves and grated betel nut ( areca nut ) - both made into a paste - as well as a spice mixture ( pan masala ) consisting of cardamom , anise , peppermint , coconut and others are wrapped and held together with a toothpick or a clove . There are also preparations with tobacco powder and coriander seeds .
The slaked lime keeps the active substances in their basic or alkaline form and thus enables sublingual absorption into the blood. The areca nut contains the alkaloid arecoline , which causes salivation (which turns red) and is self-stimulating. The red juice stains the teeth and damages the gums. However, chewing a betel prime has been practiced for several thousand years. Also, while the betel pepper is chewed, the DNA in the mouth is temporarily neutralized, which can cause problems when analyzing saliva samples. Scientists therefore try to amplify the DNA for analysis in such cases.
Similar Art
Piper sarmentosum is a related species that is used in cooking and is sometimes called "wild betel".
Taxonomy
The first publication of Piper betle carried by 1753 in Species Plantarum , 1, pp 28-29.
See also
swell
- Yung-chien Tseng, Nianhe Xia & Michael G. Gilbert: Piperaceae : Piper betle , p. 120 - online with the same text as the printed work , In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven (ed.): Flora of China , Volume 4 - Cycadaceae through Fagaceae , Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis, 1999. ISBN 0-915279-70-3 (section description)
- P. Guha: Betel leaf: The neglected green gold of India. In: J. Hum Ecol. , Volume 19 (2), 2006: (PDF file; 153 kB) (usage section)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Piper betle in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ↑ a b c d e Yung-chien Tseng, Nianhe Xia & Michael G. Gilbert: Piperaceae : Piper betle , p. 120 - the same text online as the printed work , In: Wu Zheng-yi, Peter H. Raven (ed.): Flora of China , Volume 4 - Cycadaceae through Fagaceae , Science Press and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing and St. Louis, 1999. ISBN 0-915279-70-3 .
- ^ Piper betle at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ First publication scanned at biodiversitylibrary.org .
- ^ Piper betle at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed February 23, 2013.
