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Catechu
( or ) is an extract of acacia trees used variously as a food additive, astringent, tannin, and dye. It is extracted from several species of Acacia, but especially ''Senegalia catechu'' (previously called ''Acacia catechu''), by boiling the wood in water and evaporating the resulting brew. The Malay name is the basis of the Latinized ''catechu'' chosen as the Linnaean taxonomy name of the plant species which provides the extract. Uses As an astringent it has been used since ancient times in Ayurvedic medicine as well as in breath-freshening spice mixtures—for example in France and Italy it is used in some licorice pastilles. It is also an important ingredient in South Asian cooking paan mixtures, such as ready-made paan masala and gutka. The catechu mixture is high in natural vegetable tannins (which accounts for its astringent effect), and may be used for the tanning of animal hides. Early research by Humphry Davy in the early 19th century first demonstrated the use ...
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Senegalia Catechu
''Senegalia catechu'', previously known as ''Acacia catechu'', is a deciduous, thorny tree which grows up to in height. The plant is called ''kachu'' in Malay; the Malay name was Latinized to "catechu" in Linnaean taxonomy, as the species from which the extracts cutch and catechu are derived. Other common names for it include kher, catechu, cachou, cutchtree, black cutch, and black catechu. ''Senegalia catechu'' is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, including the Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Cambodia and China (Yunnan). Through derivatives of the flavanols in its extracts, the species has lent its name to the important catechins, catechols and catecholamines of chemistry and biology. Uses Food The tree's seeds are a good source of protein. Kattha ( catechu), an extract of its heartwood, gives a characteristic flavor and red color to paan, a traditional Indian and Southeast Asian method for chewing betel leaf (''Piper betle'') with areca nut and slaked lime paste. F ...
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Areca Catechu
''Areca catechu'' is a species of palm native to the Philippines cultivated for areca nuts. It was carried widely through the tropics by the Austronesian migrations and trade since at least 1500 BCE due to its use in betel nut chewing. It is widespread in cultivation and is considered naturalized in much of tropical Asia and in Taiwan, southern China (Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan), Madagascar, parts of the Pacific Islands, and also in the West Indies. : : :This review cites this research. : : Its fruits (called areca nuts or betel nuts) are chewed together with slaked lime and betel leaves for their stimulant and narcotic effects. Taxonomy Common names in English include areca palm, areca nut palm, betel palm, betel nut palm, Indian nut, Pinang palm and catechu. This palm is commonly called the betel tree because its fruit, the areca nut, which are often chewed along with the betel leaf, a leaf from a vine of the family Piperaceae. The species was first published by ...
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Paan Masala
Betel nut chewing, also called betel quid chewing or areca nut chewing, is a practice in which areca nuts (also called "betel nuts") are chewed together with slaked lime and betel leaves for their stimulant and narcotic effects, the primary psychoactive compound being arecoline. The practice is widespread in Southeast Asia, Micronesia, Island Melanesia, and South Asia. It is also found among both Han Chinese immigrants and indigenous peoples of Taiwan, Madagascar, and parts of southern China. It was introduced to the Caribbean in colonial times. The preparation combining the areca nut, slaked lime, and betel (Piper betle) leaves is known as a betel quid (also called ''paan'' or ''pan'' in South Asia), but the exact composition of the mixture varies geographically. It can sometimes include other substances for flavoring and to freshen the breath, like coconut, dates, sugar, menthol, saffron, cloves, aniseed, cardamom, and many others. The areca nut can be replaced with toba ...
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Paan
Betel nut chewing, also called betel quid chewing or areca nut chewing, is a practice in which areca nuts (also called "betel nuts") are chewed together with slaked lime and betel leaves for their stimulant and narcotic effects, the primary psychoactive compound being arecoline. The practice is widespread in Southeast Asia, Micronesia, Island Melanesia, and South Asia. It is also found among both Han Chinese immigrants and indigenous peoples of Taiwan, Madagascar, and parts of southern China. It was introduced to the Caribbean in colonial times. The preparation combining the areca nut, slaked lime, and betel (Piper betle) leaves is known as a betel quid (also called ''paan'' or ''pan'' in South Asia), but the exact composition of the mixture varies geographically. It can sometimes include other substances for flavoring and to freshen the breath, like coconut, dates, sugar, menthol, saffron, cloves, aniseed, cardamom, and many others. The areca nut can be replaced with t ...
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Catechu
( or ) is an extract of acacia trees used variously as a food additive, astringent, tannin, and dye. It is extracted from several species of Acacia, but especially ''Senegalia catechu'' (previously called ''Acacia catechu''), by boiling the wood in water and evaporating the resulting brew. The Malay name is the basis of the Latinized ''catechu'' chosen as the Linnaean taxonomy name of the plant species which provides the extract. Uses As an astringent it has been used since ancient times in Ayurvedic medicine as well as in breath-freshening spice mixtures—for example in France and Italy it is used in some licorice pastilles. It is also an important ingredient in South Asian cooking paan mixtures, such as ready-made paan masala and gutka. The catechu mixture is high in natural vegetable tannins (which accounts for its astringent effect), and may be used for the tanning of animal hides. Early research by Humphry Davy in the early 19th century first demonstrated the use ...
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Catechol
Catechol ( or ), also known as pyrocatechol or 1,2-dihydroxybenzene, is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is the ''ortho'' isomer of the three isomeric benzenediols. This colorless compound occurs naturally in trace amounts. It was first discovered by destructive distillation of the plant extract catechin. About 20,000 tonnes of catechol are now synthetically produced annually as a commodity organic chemical, mainly as a precursor to pesticides, flavors, and fragrances. Small amounts of catechol occur in fruits and vegetables. Isolation and synthesis Catechol was first isolated in 1839 by Edgar Hugo Emil Reinsch (1809–1884) by distilling it from the solid tannic preparation catechin, which is the residuum of catechu, the boiled or concentrated juice of ''Mimosa catechu'' ('' Acacia catechu''). Upon heating catechin above its decomposition point, a substance that Reinsch first named ''Brenz-Katechusäure'' (burned catechu acid) sublimated as a white efflo ...
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Catechin
Catechin is a flavan-3-ol, a type of secondary metabolite providing antioxidant roles in plants. It belongs to the subgroup of polyphenols called flavonoids. The name of the catechin chemical family derives from ''catechu'', which is the tannic juice or boiled extract of ''Mimosa catechu'' (''Acacia catechu'' L.f.). Chemistry Catechin possesses two benzene rings (called the A and B rings) and a dihydropyran heterocycle (the C ring) with a hydroxyl group on carbon 3. The A ring is similar to a resorcinol moiety while the B ring is similar to a catechol moiety. There are two chirality (chemistry), chiral centers on the molecule on carbons 2 and 3. Therefore, it has four diastereoisomers. Two of the isomers are in trans configuration, ''trans'' configuration and are called ''catechin'' and the other two are in cis configuration, ''cis'' configuration and are called ''epicatechin''. The most common catechin isomer is (+)-catechin. The other stereoisomer is (−)-catechin or ''en ...
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Acacia Sensu Lato
''Acacia sensu lato, s.l.'' (pronounced or ), known commonly as mimosa, acacia, thorntree or wattle, is a Polyphyly, polyphyletic genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. It was described by the Sweden, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773 based on the African species ''Acacia nilotica'', now classified as ''Vachellia nilotica''. Many non-Australian species tend to be Thorns, spines and prickles, thorny. Most Australian acacias are not. All species are legume, pod-bearing, with sap and leaves often bearing large amounts of tannins and condensed tannins that historically found use as pharmaceuticals and preservatives. The genus ''Acacia'' constitutes, in its traditional circumspection, the second largest genus in Fabaceae (''Astragalus (plant), Astragalus'' being the largest), with roughly 1,300 species, about 960 of them native to Australia, with the remainder spread around the tropical to warm-temperate regions of both hemispher ...
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White Cutch
Gambier or gambir is an extract derived from the leaves of ''Uncaria gambir'', a climbing shrub native to tropical Southeast Asia. Gambier is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia where it was an important trade item into the late nineteenth century. It can be used as a tanning agent, a brown dye, a food additive and as herbal medicine. Also known as pale catechu, white catechu or Japan Earth, it is often confused with other forms of catechu. History Gambier production began as a traditional occupation in the Malay archipelago. By the middle of the seventeenth century, it was established in Sumatra and in the western parts of Java and the Malay peninsula. It was initially used as medicine and chewed with betel. Local Chinese also began to use gambier to tan hides. Chinese first got involved in gambier production at Riau, using coolie labor and growing black pepper as a supplemental crop. Bugis merchants traded the gambier for rice from Java and Siam, helping the Bugis to become an ...
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Gutka
Gutka, ghutka, or guṭkha () is a type of betel quid and chewing tobacco preparation made of crushed areca nut (also called betel nut), tobacco, catechu, paraffin wax, slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) and sweet or savory flavourings, in India, Pakistan, other Asian countries, and North America. Using gutka is highly addictive and can cause various harmful effects such as head and neck cancer, oral and oropharyngeal cancers, coronary heart disease, as well as negative reproductive effects including stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight. Gutka is manufactured in the sub-continent and exported to a few other countries, often marketed under the guise of a "safer" product than cigarettes and tobacco. Reported to have both stimulant and relaxation effects, it is sold throughout South Asia and some Pacific regions in small, individual-sized foil packets/sachets and tins that cost between 2 and 10 rupees each. It is widely consumed in India, Pakistan and the Madhesh reg ...
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