1 5 ▁days ▁to ▁one ▁month . ▁Bet el ▁plant ▁has ▁made ▁its ▁way ▁to ▁research ▁l abs ▁of ▁many ▁Bang l adesh ▁chemical ▁and ▁food ▁nut r ition ▁companies . ▁ ▁The ▁har v ested ▁leaves ▁are ▁consum ed ▁locally ▁and ▁export ed ▁to ▁other ▁parts ▁of ▁Asia , ▁the ▁Middle ▁East , ▁Europe , ▁and ▁the ▁Amer icas . ▁Bet el ▁is ▁grown ▁and ▁cultiv ated ▁as ▁an ▁important ▁c rop ▁in ▁rural ▁Bang l adesh . ▁ ▁Us age ▁and ▁cultural ▁significance ▁ ▁The ▁primary ▁use ▁of ▁bet el ▁leaf ▁is ▁as ▁a ▁wrapper ▁for ▁the ▁che wing ▁of ▁are ca ▁nut ▁or ▁to b acco , ▁where ▁it ▁is ▁mainly ▁used ▁to ▁add ▁flav our . ▁It ▁may ▁also ▁be ▁used ▁in ▁cook ing , ▁usually ▁raw , ▁for ▁its ▁pe pp ery ▁taste . ▁Use ▁of ▁b ing lang , ▁or ▁bet el , ▁has ▁over ▁a ▁ 3 0 0 ▁year ▁history ▁in ▁areas ▁of ▁China ▁where ▁it ▁was ▁once ▁promoted ▁for ▁medic inal ▁use . ▁ ▁Health ▁effects ▁ ▁Some ▁reports ▁may ▁suggest ▁that ▁bet el ▁leaf ▁by ▁itself ▁has ▁ad verse ▁health ▁effects , ▁in ▁part ▁because ▁of ▁t ann ins ▁delivered ▁by ▁the ▁leaf ▁and ▁for ▁reasons ▁currently ▁not ▁fully ▁understood . ▁For ▁example , ▁one ▁research ▁paper ▁studied ▁chrom os ome ▁dam aging ▁effect ▁of ▁bet el ▁leaf ▁in ▁human ▁le uk ocy te ▁cult ures . ▁These ▁research ers ▁report ▁an ▁increase ▁in ▁the ▁frequency ▁of ▁chrom at id ▁aber r ations