Process Engineering and Therapeutic Insights Into <scp> <i>Acacia catechu</i> </scp> (Kattha) Extracts: Sustainable Technologies and Functional Food Potential With Focus on Hemorrhoids

ABSTRACT Acacia catechu (kattha) heartwood is used for a long time in Ayurveda medicine for the treatment of digestive and vascular disorders, particularly hemorrhoids. Its medicinal value has a high presence of polyphenol substances offering many properties in pharmacy. Besides the folk medicine, kattha is a promising food ingredient and also for the development of nutraceutical products. When it is compared to typical water extraction with MAE and UAE methods, the extraction time is reduced by a factor of 70% and there are fewer solvents which are used by almost 60%, showing a greater industry use possibility. But still the challenges remain for the standardization of dosage, ensuring the stability, large‐scale manufacturing and also regulatory requirements. This review is combining the field of ethnopharmacological information, together with developments in process engineering, to prove that kattha is a possible source of sustainable bioactive polyphenolic elements. The range of applications includes functional drinks, dietary supplements, and phytomedicine products, with hemorrhoid management as one of the many examples. By linking the old traditional understanding with the process engineering of modern food, kattha becomes a multi‐use choice for innovations in the nutraceuticals field which ensure food security goals, better health for the public, and much more sustainable nutrition.