Gambier or gambir is an extract derived from the leaves of Uncaria gambir , a climbing shrub native to tropical Southeast Asia. Gambier is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia where it was an important trade item into the late nineteenth century. It can be used as a tanning agent, a brown dye, [1] [2] a food additive [3] and as herbal medicine. Also known as pale catechu, [4] white catechu or Japan Earth, [2] it is often confused with other forms of catechu.
Gambier production began as a traditional occupation in the Malay archipelago. By the middle of the seventeenth century, it was established in Sumatra and in the western parts of Java and the Malay peninsula. It was initially used as medicine and chewed with betel. Local Chinese also began to use gambier to tan hides. Chinese first got involved in gambier production at Riau, using coolie labor and growing black pepper as a supplemental crop. Bugis merchants traded the gambier for rice from Java and Siam, helping the Bugis to become an important regional power in the late eighteenth century. [5]
When the British settlement of Singapore was founded in 1819, about 20 gambier plantations had already been started in the area by Chinese. The peak of Singapore's gambier trade was in the 1830s through 1850s, driven by demand from the British dyeing and leather tanning industries. [6]
Diplomat Edmund Roberts noted that upon his visit to China in the 1830s, Chinese were using it for tanning, and noted that the uncaria gambir made "leather porous and rotten". He also noted that the Chinese would chew it with areca nut. [7]
In the 1860s through 1880s, gambier production was expanded in nearby Johor under the kangchu system. [8]
To make gambier, the leaves are first boiled in water. They absorb it and turn brownish in color. The leaves are then pressed mechanically to squeeze and extract liquid. This liquid is then dried into a semi-solid paste and molded into cubes, which are dried in the sun. [2]
Gambier has a highly astringent taste with no odor, ranging in color from yellow to brown. It is mainly composed of cattechu-tanic acid (a tannin) and catechin (a flavan-3-ol). Commercially produced gambier may range in catechin content of less than 20% to more than 40% depending on quality. When used for making leather, catechin is converted into cattechu-tanic acid by the tanning process. [9]
Trace components include quercetin, wax, oil, cattechu red, and gambier-flourescien. [2] Gambier extracts further contain chalcane-flavan dimers (gambiriins A1, A2, B1 and B2) in addition to (+)-catechin, (+)-epicatechin, and dimeric proanthocyanidins including procyanidin B1, procyanidin B3, and gambiriin C. [10]
Gambier has been used as a form of catechu for chewing with areca nut. Particularly in the nineteenth century, it was economically important as a brown dye and tanning agent. [1] [2] It is still used as herbal medicine, and occasionally as a food additive. [3]
The areca nut is the seed of the areca palm, which grows in much of the tropical Pacific, Southeast and South Asia, and parts of east Africa. It is commonly referred to as betel nut, not to be confused with betel leaves that are often used to wrap it. The term areca originated from the Malayalam word aḍaykka (അടയ്ക്ക) and dates from the 16th century, when Dutch and Portuguese sailors took the nut from Kerala to Europe. Consumption has many harmful effects on health and is carcinogenic to humans. Various compounds present in the nut, including arecoline, contribute to histologic changes in the oral mucosa. It is known to be a major risk factor for cancers of the mouth and esophagus. As with chewing tobacco, its use is discouraged by preventive efforts. Consumption by hundreds of millions of people worldwide – mainly with southern and eastern Asian origins – has been described as a "neglected global public health emergency".
Uncaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It has about 40 species. Their distribution is pantropical, with most species native to tropical Asia, three from Africa and the Mediterranean and two from the neotropics. They are known colloquially as gambier, cat's claw or uña de gato. The latter two names are shared with several other plants. The type species for the genus is Uncaria guianensis.
Flavan-3-ols are derivatives of flavans that possess a 2-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromen-3-ol skeleton. These compounds include catechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, proanthocyanidins, theaflavins, thearubigins.
Catechu 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, by boiling the wood in water and evaporating the resulting brew. It is also known as cutch, black cutch, cachou, cashoo, terra Japonica, or Japan earth, and also katha in Hindi, kaath in Marathi, khoyer in Assamese and Bengali, and kachu in Malay.
Paan is a preparation combining betel leaf with areca nut widely consumed throughout Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. It is chewed for its stimulant effects. After chewing, it is either spat out or swallowed. Paan has many variations. Slaked lime (chuna) paste is commonly added to bind the leaves. Some preparations in the Indian subcontinent include katha paste or mukhwas to freshen the breath.
Catechin is a flavan-3-ol, a type of natural phenol and antioxidant. It is a plant secondary metabolite. It belongs to the group of flavan-3-ols, part of the chemical family of flavonoids.
Bintan Island or Negeri Segantang Lada is an island in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It is part of the Riau Islands province, the capital of which, Tanjung Pinang, lies in the island's south and is the island's main community.
Catechol ( or ), also known as pyrocatechol or 1,2-dihydroxybenzene, is a toxic organic compound with the molecular formula C6H4(OH)2. It is the ortho isomer of the three isomeric benzenediols. This colorless compound occurs naturally in trace amounts. It was first discovered by destructive distillation of the plant extract catechin. About 20,000 tonnes of catechol is now synthetically produced annually as a commodity organic chemical, mainly as a precursor to pesticides, flavors, and fragrances.
The Johor Sultanate was founded by Malaccan Sultan Mahmud Shah's son, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah II in 1528. Johor was part of the Malaccan Sultanate before the Portuguese conquered Malacca's capital in 1511. At its height, the sultanate controlled modern-day Johor, Riau, and territories stretching from the river Klang to the Linggi and Tanjung Tuan, Muar, Batu Pahat, Singapore, Pulau Tinggi and other islands off the east coast of the Malay peninsula, the Karimun islands, the islands of Bintan, Bulang, Lingga and Bunguran, and Bengkalis, Kampar and Siak in Sumatra. In 1564 the Ottomans conquered the Sultanate during the Ottoman expedition to Aceh. During the colonial era, the mainland part was administered by the British, and the insular part by the Dutch, thus breaking up the sultanate into Johor and Riau. In 1946, the British section became part of the Malayan Union. Two years later, it joined the Federation of Malaya and subsequently, the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. In 1949, the Dutch section became part of Indonesia.
Areca catechu is a species of palm which grows in much of the tropical Pacific, Asia, and parts of east Africa. The palm is believed to have originated in the Philippines, but is widespread in cultivation and is considered naturalized in southern China, Taiwan, India, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, many of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, and also in the West Indies.
Proanthocyanidins are a class of polyphenols found in a variety of plants such as blueberry. Chemically, they are oligomeric flavonoids. Many are oligomers of catechin and epicatechin and their gallic acid esters. More complex polyphenols, having the same polymeric building block, form the group of tannins.
Procyanidins are members of the proanthocyanidin class of flavonoids. They are oligomeric compounds, formed from catechin and epicatechin molecules. They yield cyanidin when depolymerized under oxidative conditions.
Senegalia catechu is a deciduous, thorny tree which grows up to 15 m (50 ft) in height. The plant is called khair in Hindi, and kachu in Malay, hence the name was Latinized to "catechu" in Linnaean taxonomy, as the type-species from which the extracts cutch and catechu are derived. Common names for it include kher, catechu, cachou, cutchtree, black cutch, and black catechu.
The Kangchu system was a socio-economic system of organisation and administration developed by Chinese agricultural settlers in Johor during the 19th century. The settlers organised themselves into informal associations, and chose a leader from among themselves. In Chinese, "Kangchu" literally means ‘master of the riverbank’, and was the title given to the Chinese headmen of these river settlements. The "Kangchu" leaders are also called "Kapitan".
Tanbark is the bark of certain species of trees. It is traditionally used for tanning hides into leather.
The phenolic content in wine refers to the phenolic compounds—natural phenol and polyphenols—in wine, which include a large group of several hundred chemical compounds that affect the taste, color and mouthfeel of wine. These compounds include phenolic acids, stilbenoids, flavonols, dihydroflavonols, anthocyanins, flavanol monomers (catechins) and flavanol polymers (proanthocyanidins). This large group of natural phenols can be broadly separated into two categories, flavonoids and non-flavonoids. Flavonoids include the anthocyanins and tannins which contribute to the color and mouthfeel of the wine. The non-flavonoids include the stilbenoids such as resveratrol and phenolic acids such as benzoic, caffeic and cinnamic acids.
Leucocyanidin is a colorless chemical compound that is a member of the class of natural products known as leucoanthocyanidins.
Procyanidin C2 is a B type proanthocyanidin trimer, a type of condensed tannin.
Uncaria gambir, the gambier or gambir, is a species in the genus Uncaria found in Southeast Asia, mainly Malaysia and Indonesia.
Areca nut production in India is dominant in the coastal region within 400 kilometres (250 mi) from the coast line, and also in some other non-coastal states of India. Areca nut, a tropical crop, is popularly known as betel nut, as its common usage in the country is for mastication with betel leaves. It is a palm tree species under the family of Arecaceae. It has commercial and economic importance not only in India but also in China and Southeast Asia.