POST-HARVEST PROCESSING AND VALUE ADDITION OF ARECANUT (ARECA CATECHU L.): CURRENT STATUS, CHALLENGES AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract

Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) is one of India’s most economically significant plantation crops, sustaining livelihoods across its production, processing, and marketing chain. It serves as the principal raw material for the pan masala industry. India accounts for 65.5 per cent of global arecanut production (2,542 thousand tonnes in 2022), yet there is productivity stagnation and underdeveloped post-harvest processing systems. This systematic review consolidates evidence from 49 peer-reviewed sources retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar to address post-harvest physiology, processing technologies, value addition, by-product utilisation, constraints and emerging innovations in the arecanut sector, with particular reference to India. The processing of arecanut follows three principal routes: sun-dried, boiled, and white-processed forms, all predominantly manual, weather-dependent and quality-inconsistent. Enzymatic browning through polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activity, aflatoxin contamination during improper sun-drying by Aspergillus species and insect infestation during storage are the documented primary quality deterioration mechanisms. By-product streams, including arecanut husk biochar, leaf sheaths for cellulose-based transparent packaging and separated polyphenol fractions with documented osteoporosis-ameliorating effects, represent underexploited value chains with strong published evidence for commercial viability. Emerging innovations in machine vision and deep learning-based grading (>85% classification accuracy), solar-assisted drying (40–55% energy saving), and nanocellulose extraction from sheath fibres offer transformative opportunities. Critical research gaps in universal mechanical dehusking, mandatory quality standardisation, farmer-level processing units and food safety engineering for leaf sheath plates are identified, contextualised specifically for India. This review contributes to the processing and value chain of arecanut.