Arecoline is a natural alkaloid derived from areca nut in the palm family and is a potent nicotine and partial agonist of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Arecoline has anti-anxiety and anti-parasitic activity, can induce oxidative stress and can be used to study Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Arecoline诱导产生活性氧种类并在HaCaT细胞中引发G1/G0期的细胞周期停滞，而不影响p21/Cip1的表达。观察到对arecoline的响应中，包括血红素氧合酶-1、铁蛋白轻链、葡萄糖-6-磷酸脱氢酶、谷氨酰胱氨酸连接酶催化亚单位以及谷胱甘肽还原酶在内的应激响应基因表达上调。值得注意的是，高浓度arecoline诱导的上皮细胞死亡归因于氧化性创伤，而不触发凋亡[1]。