Chinese medical dictionaries define betel nut as a non-toxic plant with pungent flavour and warm healing properties. It acts as a diuretic, relieves asthma, wards off miasmas and malaria, and kills parasites.
而據中國醫學大辭典解釋，檳榔是種辛溫苦澀、無毒的植物，可治便秘、氣喘、瘴癘、瘧疾、殺寄生蟲等。