''Uncaria gambir'', the gambier or gambir, is a species of plant in the genus ''
Uncaria
''Uncaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It has about 40 species.''Uncaria'' At: World Checklist of Rubiaceae At: Kew Gardens Website. (see ''External links'' below). Their distribution is pantropical, with most speci ...
'' found in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, mainly
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
Extract
Gambier extract is used or has been used as a
catechu
( or ) is an extract of acacia trees used variously as a food additive, astringent, tannin, and dye. It is extracted from several species of ''Acacia'', but especially ''Senegalia catechu'' (''Acacia catechu''), by boiling the wood in wate ...
for chewing with
areca
''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ''Areca'' is derived from a name u ...
and
betel
The betel (''Piper betle'') is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. The betel plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plan ...
, for
tanning
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
and
dye
A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
ing, and as herbal medicine. Gambier extract was also used by native people as a medical treatment or prevention of diseases that were believed to be spread by the now
obsolete medical theory of
miasma.
The Indians invented ''paan'', a gambir paste, that was believed to help prevent
miasma; it was considered as the first antimiasmatic application. The gambir tree is found in Southern India and Sri Lanka.
References
*
*
gambir
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