The Substance Basis Research of Stir-Baking to Dark Brown Could Enhance the Promoting Effects of Areca Nut on Gastrointestinal Motility

Bioactive Components of Areca Nut: An Overview of Their Positive Impacts Targeting Different Organs

Areca catechu L. is a widely cultivated tropical crop in Southeast Asia, and its fruit, areca nut, has been consumed as a traditional Chinese medicinal material for more than 10,000 years, although it has recently attracted widespread attention due to potential hazards. Areca nut holds a significant position in traditional medicine in many areas and ranks first among the four southern medicines in China. Numerous bioactive compounds have been identified in areca nuts, including alkaloids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, and fatty acids, which exhibit diverse bioactive functions, such as anti-bacterial, deworming, anti-viral, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor effects. Furthermore, they also display beneficial impacts targeting the nervous, digestive, and endocrine systems. This review summarizes the pharmacological functions and underlying mechanisms of the bioactive ingredients in areca nut. This helps to ascertain the beneficial components of areca nut, discover its medicinal potential, and guide the utilization of the areca nut.

Is gastrointestinal motility related to alkaloids of Charred Semen Arecae?

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Semen Arecae (SA) is one of the most commonly used Traditional Chinese Medicine. Charred Semen Arecae (CSA) is the processed product of SA. Alkaloids are considered as pharmacological mechanisms of SA and CSA on gastrointestinal motility. Recent studies have shown alkaloids decreased quickly after procession. However, the promoting on gastrointestinal motility were not decreased. Is gastrointestinal motility related to alkaloids of CSA? This study explored the effects of SA, CSA, Semen Arecae-Removal (SA-R), and Charred Semen Arecae-Removal (CSA-R) on gastrointestinal motility, Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide (GIP), Glucagon Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1), gastric juice and bile in rats.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Rats were randomly divided into six groups, including the Control group, SA group, CSA group, SA-R group, CSA-R group, and Positive drug group (Mosapride). Alkaloids of samples were knocked out by using the "target constituent removal" strategy. Gastric residue and intestinal propulsion rate were evaluated in rats. Serum levels of GIP and GLP-1 were measured by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Gastric juice and bile were examined, respectively.

RESULTS

CSA-R and SA-R have been investigated by the Preparative Thin-layer Chromatography (PTLC) method. Intestinal propulsion and gastric residue assessments confirmed the effectiveness of CSA and CSA-R. CSA-R was higher than SA-R in the GLP-1, pepsin activity, the secretion of bile, Bilirubin (BIL), and Cholesterol (CHO). The statistical comparison demonstrated that there is no difference between the CSA group and CSA-R group.

CONCLUSIONS

After processing, the promoting gastrointestinal motility might be not related to alkaloids. Maillard reaction could be produced to promote the secretion of GLP-1, bile, and CHO for gastrointestinal motility. Our findings provide a pharmacological reference for the clinical application of SA and CSA in the treatment of digestive diseases.

Using the "target constituent removal combined with bioactivity assay" strategy to investigate the optimum arecoline content in charred areca nut

Charred areca nut (CAN) is used to treat dyspepsia and abdominal distension in children. However, reports revealed that arecoline, the most important active constituent of CAN, possesses potential toxicities. This study was designed to investigate the optimum arecoline content in CAN, using the "target constituent removal combined with bioactivity assay" strategy. Based on PTLC method, we prepared CAN lacking all arecoline (WAC-100R) and a series of different ratios of arecoline-removed CAN samples (WAC-Rx). MTT and acute toxicity assays indicated that decreasing content by 50% decreased CAN toxicity significantly. Animal results revealed arecoline contents over 50% could guarantee the beneficial effects of CAN on gastrointestinal tract. Additionally, decreasing arecoline content in CAN by 50% decreased its pro-apoptotic effects significantly. Furthermore, decreasing 50% arecoline content in CAN down-regulated the expressions of Cleaved-Caspase-3, c-jun, c-fos, COX-2, PGE2, and IL-1α. Thus, our results revealed that CAN with 50% arecoline content (WAC-50R) has similar beneficial effects on the gastrointestinal tract to CAN, whereas its toxicity was decreased significantly. Collectively, our study suggested that the strategy of "target constituent removal combined with bioactivity assay" is a promising method to identify the optimum arecoline content in CAN, which is approximately 0.12%.