Auditing the Magahi Paan (Piper Betle L.) Geographical Indication: Ayurvedic Claims, Field Observations and Governance

Abstract

Geographical indications (GIs) increasingly market traditional plant products on the strength of origin and health, yet the evidence written into their specifications is seldom tested in the field. Taking an Ayurveda-biology perspective, we studied Magahi paan (Piper betle L.), the betel leaf of Bihar’s Magadh region registered as GI No. 554. Primary data were collected in March 2025 through field visits across one of the four GI districts, comprising face-to-face interviews with 27 growers and direct, photo-documented observation of conservatory (baroj) construction and cultivation. These were combined with directed content analysis of ten official GI documents (2016–2026), a geospatial check of 52 published village coordinates, and evaluation of the 12 codified medicinal claims against classical Ayurvedic texts on tāmbūla and the biomedical literature. Field observation confirmed the labour-intensive practices the specification describes, with planting, staking and irrigation all done by hand. The producers’ society holding the registration was formed only after it replaced the university applicant, and the medicinal claims entered at the examiner’s request from two secondary sources. None had human clinical evidence; only the oral-hygiene uses matched classical Ayurveda, and the claim that the leaf stops nasal bleeding contradicts both the Aṣṭāṅga Hṛdaya, which contraindicates tāmbūla in bleeding disorders, and the antiplatelet action of hydroxychavicol. The essential-oil profile presented as Magahi paan came from one market sample bought outside the territory, and 5 of 52 coordinates fell outside their listed district. GI specifications for medicinal plants should combine field-verified practice, chemical criteria and Ayurvedic contraindications with evidence-graded health claims.