Home
    Disclaimer

    Arecoline Encyclopedic
    Encyclopedic
    Typical encyclopedia coverage. Cross-reference for important decisions.
    • 2 corroborating sources
    • 4 ROAs with full dose ladders
    • duration data present
    • PubChem toxicity data
    • dose data not in PW/TripSit (unverifiable)

    Aliases: Arecolin, Arecaline, Arecholine, Betel nut alkaloid

    Stimulant Nootropic

    Summary dose.wiki

    One average areca nut (~2 g) contains ~5-8 mg arecoline. Calcium hydroxide or slaked lime is traditionally added to basify saliva and improve buccal absorption, but greatly increases oral carcinogen formation. Chronic areca nut use is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by IARC with strong evidence for oral cancer, submucous fibrosis, and systemic health effects.

    Dose Information dose.wiki Drugs.Wiki

    Dose basis. Buccal exposure from betel quid is highly variable across nuts and preparations; pH elevation with slaked lime increases local absorption but also causes chronic mucosal irritation. Doses inferred from chewing reports and vary by nut cultivar and quid composition; start low due to large interindividual variability. Evidence basis: human chewer PK and salivary levels rather than controlled-dose trials. Beware salt-to-base conversion: arecoline HBr MW ≈236.1; freebase MW ≈155.2. 1 mg arecoline HBr ≈0.66 mg arecoline freebase. Dose conservatively if the label does not specify base vs salt. Arecoline base has an unpleasant taste and greater GI upset in some users. (Dose figures and this note are from Drugs.Wiki.)

    ROA Light Common Strong Heavy
    Buccal 2-4mg 4-8mg 8-15mg 15mg+
    Oral 3-6mg 6-10mg 10-15mg 15mg+
    Sublingual 2-5mg 5-10mg 10-15mg 15mg+
    Vaporized 1-3mg 3-6mg 6-10mg 10mg+
    Light Common Strong Heavy

    Onset, Duration & After-effects dose.wiki Drugs.Wiki

    ROA Onset Peak Offset After Effects Total
    Buccal - 12-42 min 30-90 min 1-3 hrs 1-2 hrs
    Oral 15-25 min 12-42 min 30-90 min 1-3 hrs 1-2 hrs
    Sublingual 2-5 min 12-42 min 30-90 min 1-3 hrs 1-2 hrs
    Vaporized <1-2 min 12-42 min 30-90 min 1-3 hrs 1-2 hrs

    Effect Profile

    Scores (1–10) curated from multiple sources:

    • Effect keyword matching from PsychonautWiki catalog
    • Weighted by importance: core (×3), major (×2), minor (×1)

    Full methodology

    Stimulant 5.6
    Strong 6/10

    Strong focus with moderate stimulation, low anxiety/jitters

    Stimulation / Energy ×3
    6
    stimulation wakefulness alertness enhancement
    Euphoria / Mood Lift ×2
    0
    Focus / Productivity ×2
    10
    focus enhancement enhanced concentration cognitive enhancement memory enhancement
    ⚠ Anxiety / Jitters ×1
    3
    anxiety
    View methodology →

    Add to PsychonautWiki Journal

    The PsychonautWiki Journal logging app doesn't include every substance. To track Arecoline there, start adding an ingestion, search for the name, and choose to add it as a custom substance. Paste these values:

    ⬇ Download import file Import this file as custom substances and you get "Arecoline (Substance Search)" with every route's full dose ladder and timeline, no typing. Works on iOS and Android (v15+); the format is confirmed by the app's developer. The manual values below work for older versions.
    Name
    Arecoline
    Unit
    mg
    Description 
    Arecoline
Source: SubstanceSearch (substancesearch.com)

Buccal dose (mg): threshold 2 · light 2-4 · common 4-8 · strong 8-15 · heavy 15+
Oral dose (mg): threshold 2-3 · light 3-6 · common 6-10 · strong 10-15 · heavy 15+
Sublingual dose (mg): threshold 1-2 · light 2-5 · common 5-10 · strong 10-15 · heavy 15+
Vaporized dose (mg): threshold 0.5-1 · light 1-3 · common 3-6 · strong 6-10 · heavy 10+

Buccal duration: peak 12-42m · offset 0.5-1.5h · total 1-2h · after-effects 1-3h
Oral duration: onset 15-25m · peak 12-42m · offset 0.5-1.5h · total 1-2h · after-effects 1-3h
Sublingual duration: onset 2-5m · peak 12-42m · offset 0.5-1.5h · total 1-2h · after-effects 1-3h
Vaporized duration: onset <1-2m · peak 12-42m · offset 0.5-1.5h · total 1-2h · after-effects 1-3h

Note: ranges are harm-reduction guidance, not a prescription. Start low, go slow, and test your substances.

    Tip: for quicker logging you can also add a Custom Unit in the app, e.g. common dose ~ 6 mg (Buccal).

    The app keeps custom substances simple, so the full dose ranges live in the description text above. Ranges are harm-reduction guidance, not a prescription.

    Tolerance

    Build-up develops over days to weeks of regular use
    Reset 3–7 days for acute tolerance; longer for full reset

    Tolerance Decay

    Full tolerance 7d Half tolerance 3d Baseline ~18d

    Tolerance patterns are inferred from habitual quid users (rapid tolerance to salivation and GI effects, less to cardiovascular effects). Data are low quality and largely anecdotal; sustained daily use tends to increase dose frequency due to short duration.

    Cross-Tolerances

    other direct muscarinic agonists
    50%

    Effects dose.wiki

    Positive
    • Stimulation
    • Pain Relief
    Negative
    • Nausea
    • Jaw tremor
    • Headache
    Neutral
    • Increased saliva production
    • GI peristalsis
    • Bradycardia
    • Muscle fasciculation
    • Body Odor Alteration
    Positive
    • Enhanced concentration
    • Mild euphoria
    • Cognitive enhancement
    • Alertness enhancement
    • Dream Potentiation
    • Memory Enhancement
    • Focus Enhancement
    • Wakefulness
    Negative
    • Anxiety
    Neutral
    • Talkativeness
    Positive
    • Acuity Enhancement
    • Bodily Control Enhancement
    • Visual Acuity Enhancement
    Negative
    • Warm facial flushing
    • Light sensitivity
    • Appetite Suppression
    Neutral
    • Olfactory Intensification
    • Drifting
    • Internal hallucination
    Arecoline's nerd page Pharmacology, chemical data, effect profiles, and more
    →

    Helpful Links

    📘 Experience Reports 📖 dose.wiki 📖 PsychonautWiki