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Parasympathetic effects[edit]

I'm confused. A stimulant effect is usually a sympathetic effect, increasing heart rate, not a parasympathetic effect. Does anyone more familiar with Arecoline have anything to back up this statement?

According to the book: Medical Pharmacology at a Glance - Fifth Edition (M. J. Neal): Muscarinic effects are mainly parasympathomimetic (except sweating and vasodilation), and in general are the opposite of those caused by sympathetic stimulation. Muscarinic effects include: constriction of the pupil, accomodation for near vision, profuse watery salivation, bronchiolar constriction, bronchosecretion, hypotension, an increase in gastrointestinal motility and secrection contraction of the urinary bladder and sweating.

As I have used arecoline before, I can definitely confirm that it causes "constriction of the pupil", and I also noticed "profuse watery salivation", along with "bronchiolar constriction". The others i'm not sure about as I wasn't really analyzing.

My conclusion is that arecoline is a parasympathomimetic, rather than a sympathomimetic. Mark PEA 22:54, 12 August 2006 (UTC)Mark PEA[reply]

Herriot's books several times describe it heing used on horses with colic to make them defaecate and so expel what was causing the colic. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 21:48, 29 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Carcinogenic?[edit]

Some web sites - such as https://blog.priceplow.com/betel-nut-arecoline and http://www.science20.com/news_articles/betel_nut_addiction_plagues_millions_worldwide_heres_why-158207 and the sites they reference - say this is a carcinogen, or likely carcinogen. Holland jon (talk) 07:34, 25 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The answer is "probably" for arecoline and "yes" for areca nut overall. Current science is confident that areca nut chewing is carcinogenic. Current science thinks that that effect is probably at least partly because of arecoline itself, although it could also be from the other constituents of the nut as well, some of which are precursors to nitrosamines that form in the mouth during chewing. I will see about adding a sentence to this article about it. Section 5.5 Evaluation, on page 238 of IARC Monograph 85-6 states the following^[1]:

[...]

There is sufficient evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of betel quid without tobacco. Betel quid without tobacco causes oral cancer.

There is sufficient evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of betel quid without tobacco.

There is sufficient evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of betel quid with tobacco.

There is sufficient evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of areca nut.

There is sufficient evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of areca nut with tobacco.

There is limited evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of arecoline.

There is inadequate evidence in experimental animals for the carcinogenicity of arecaidine.

[...]

Quercus solaris (talk) 22:42, 26 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Done Quercus solaris (talk) 22:51, 26 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ International Agency for Research on Cancer (2005). Betel-quid and areca-nut chewing. IARC Monograph 85-6 (PDF). IARC. ISBN 978-92-832-1285-0.

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[isbn_9789283212850-1] International Agency for Research on Cancer (2005). Betel-quid and areca-nut chewing. IARC Monograph 85-6 (PDF). IARC. ISBN 978-92-832-1285-0.

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