Garg Apurva, Chaturvedi Pankaj, Gupta Prakash C
Department of Head and Neck Oncosurgery, Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol. 2014 Jan;35(1):3-9. doi: 10.4103/0971-5851.133702.
Areca nut is widely consumed by all ages groups in many parts of the world, especially south-east Asia. The objective of this review is to systematically review and collate all the published data that are related to the systemic effects of areca nut. The literature search was performed by an electronic search of the Pubmed and Cochrane databases using keywords and included articles published till October 2012. We selected studies that covered the effect of areca nut on metabolism, and a total of 62 studies met the criteria. There is substantial evidence for carcinogenicity of areca nut in cancers of the mouth and esophagus. Areca nut affects almost all organs of the human body, including the brain, heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tract and reproductive organs. It causes or aggravates pre-existing conditions such as neuronal injury, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, hepatotoxicity, asthma, central obesity, type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, etc. Areca nut affects the endocrine system, leading to hypothyroidism, prostate hyperplasia and infertility. It affects the immune system leading to suppression of T-cell activity and decreased release of cytokines. It has harmful effects on the fetus when used during pregnancy. Thus, areca nut is not a harmless substance as often perceived and proclaimed by the manufacturers of areca nut products such as Pan Masala, Supari Mix, Betel quid, etc. There is an urgent need to recognize areca nut as a harmful food substance by the policy makers and prohibit its glamorization as a mouth freshener. Strict laws are necessary to regulate the production of commercial preparations of areca nut.
在世界许多地区，尤其是东南亚，所有年龄段的人都广泛食用槟榔。本综述的目的是系统地回顾和整理所有已发表的与槟榔全身效应相关的数据。通过使用关键词在Pubmed和Cochrane数据库中进行电子检索来开展文献搜索，纳入截至2012年10月发表的文章。我们选择了涵盖槟榔对新陈代谢影响的研究，共有62项研究符合标准。有大量证据表明槟榔在口腔癌和食管癌中具有致癌性。槟榔几乎会影响人体的所有器官，包括大脑、心脏、肺、胃肠道和生殖器官。它会引发或加重诸如神经元损伤、心肌梗死、心律失常、肝毒性、哮喘、中心性肥胖、II型糖尿病、高脂血症、代谢综合征等已有的病症。槟榔会影响内分泌系统，导致甲状腺功能减退、前列腺增生和不孕。它会影响免疫系统，导致T细胞活性受到抑制和细胞因子释放减少。孕期食用槟榔对胎儿有有害影响。因此，槟榔并非如槟榔产品（如潘玛萨拉、苏帕里混合物、槟榔块等）制造商经常所认为和宣称的那样是一种无害物质。政策制定者迫切需要将槟榔认定为有害食物物质，并禁止将其美化成口腔清新剂。必须制定严格的法律来规范槟榔商业制剂的生产。
