Have you ever seen the fruit of an areca palm tree? Every part of the areca is useful, but the fruit is the main product. The areca nut fruit is yellow-green. It is smooth and shaped a bit like a lemon. The brown areca nut is found inside the fruit and is marked with reddish-brown lines. Traditionally, the areca nut has been combined with betel leaves as an after-meal mouth freshener and digestive stimulant. Perhaps you are a fan of this too? Many advocate its medicinal qualities, mostly to do with improving digestion. Paan masala companies, whose ads you see a million times during the IPL, also use the areca nut in their products. It is also useful to vets, to treat dogs and horses with intestinal issues.
Ever repainted your house? Next time, choose areca! While the areca nut has traditionally been used as a mouth freshener and digestive stimulant, the modern world that always finds alternate uses for everything has come up with other areas to use it in. Moreover, there’s no doubt that the areca nut is an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to the methods already in place! The areca nut is now used in the paint industry. Tannin, a by-product from the processing of the nut, can be used in paints and provides another avenue of revenue to areca nut farmers. It is also used in dyes by the textile industry. Have you ever seen areca-based paint?