Socio, Economic and Cultural Importance of Betel Vine (Piper betle L.) Cultivation: Its Present Status and Future Perspectives

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the Socio, Economic and Cultural importance of Betel Vine Cultivation. Betel vine is the most important and useful asexually propagated cash crop having various cultivars. The betel leaf has many chemical constituents that have many important industrial applications. The leaves are found to contain a terpinene, P-cymene, carvacrol, chavicol and its derivatives, allyl catechol, eugenol, estragole, oxalic acid, malic acid and amino acids. The economic status of betel leaves in the worldwide market depends on the physical nature of the end products. Betel leaf and its products in different forms such as powder, liquid, capsules, etc., are highly remarkable due to its various medicinal applications. The properties like antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity, antidiabetic, anticancer activity, etc. justify its bioprospecting for future green medicine.