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Paan, from the word pān is an Indian, Pakistani,
Uttarvarshi and Southeast Asian tradition of chewing betel leaf (Piper
betle) with areca nut and slaked lime paste, and katha (or kaatha) brown
powder paste, with many regional and local variations. Origin of Paan is
from Malaysia or Iran. Paan - also known as betel quid - is mostly
consumed in Asia, and elsewhere in the world by some Asian emigrants,
with or without tobacco, in an addictive and euphoria-inducing
formulation with adverse health effects.
Paan is claimed to be chewed as a palate cleanser, a breath freshener,
and for digestive purposes. Some offer it to their guests and visitors
as a sign of hospitality (after meals at both personal and social
occasions) and at the beginning of social events. It has a symbolic
value at ceremonies and cultural events in India and southeast
Asia. Paan makers may use mukhwas or tobacco in paan
fillings. Most paan contains areca nuts as a filling - a substance known
to cause cancer. Other types include what is called sweet paan, where
sugar, candied fruit and multicoloured, sweetened, candy-like fennel
seeds are used.
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Varieties
Paan has various forms and flavours. The most commonly found include:
Tobacco (tambaku paan): Betel leaf filled with powdered tobacco with
spices.
Areca nut (paan supari, paan masala or sada paan): Betel leaf filled
with a mixture of coarsely ground or chopped areca nuts and other
spices.
"Sweet" (meetha paan): Betel leaf with neither tobacco nor areca nuts,
the filling is primarily coconut, fruit preserves, rose petal preserves
(gulkand) and various spices. It is also often served with a maraschino
cherry.
Trento (olarno paan): Has a taste like betel with a minty aftertaste.
Eaten along with fresh potatoes, it is served in most Indian
restaurants.
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There are a variety of betel leaves grown in different parts of India
and Bangladesh; the method of preparation also differs from region to
region. The delicately flavoured paan from Bengal is known as deshi
mahoba. Maghai and jagannath are the main paans of Benaras. Paan
prepared from small and fragile leaves from south India is known as
chigrlayele. The thicker black paan leaves, the ambadi and kariyele, are
more popular and are chewed with tobacco.
Effects on health
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) regards the
chewing of betel-quid and areca nut to be a known human carcinogen.[2]
The main carcinogenic factor is believed to be areca nut. A recent study
found that areca-nut paan with and without tobacco increased oral cancer
risk by 9.9 and 8.4 times, respectively.
Paan, or betel quid as it is known in some parts of the world, is a
mixture of substances. The paan almost always contains a betel leaf with
two basic ingredients, either areca nut or tobacco or both, with lime
(calcium hydroxide),. Both tobacco and areca nut are considered as
carcinogenic,.
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In a ca. 1985 study, scientists linked malignant tumours to the site of
skin or subcutaneous administration of aqueous extracts of paan in mice.
In hamsters, forestomach carcinomas occurred after painting of the
cheek-pouch mucosa with aqueous extracts or implantation of a wax pellet
containing powdered paan with tobacco into the cheek pouch; carcinomas
occurred in the cheek pouch following implantation of the wax pellets.
In human populations, they report observing elevated frequencies of
micronucleated cells in buccal mucosa of people who chew betel quid in
Philippines and India. The scientists also found that the proportion of
micronucleated exfoliated cells is related to the site within the oral
cavity where the paan is kept habitually and to the number of betel
quids chewed per day. In related studies, the scientists reported that
oral leukoplakia shows a strong association with habits of paan chewing
in India. Some follow-up studies have shown malignant transformation of
a proportion of leukoplakias. Oral submucous fibrosis and lichen planus,
which are generally accepted to be precancerous conditions, appear to be
related to the habit of chewing paan. |