Myristica fragrans

Scientific name: Myristica fragrans Houtt.

Botanical family: MYRISTICACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

Dominican Republic:

nuez moscada

Saint Lucia:

nutmeg

Dominica:

nutmeg

Other vernacular names

Dominica:

Nutmeg

Geographical distribution

Native to tropical Asia, cultivated in the tropics of the rest of the world.

Botanical description

Tree of up to 18 m in height. Petiolate leaves, subcoriaceous, oblong elliptic to lanceolate, sharply acuminate, pinnate veined up to 13 cm long. Staminate inflorescences of 3 to 20 flowers; the pistillate flowers usually of a single flower; small, creamy yellow flowers. Piriform or subglobose fruit (nut) of up to 5 cm, hanging, reddish or yellowish, with two shells; seed with scarlet aril.

Voucher(s)

Fournet,4309,GUAD
García,1653,JBSD
Slane,986,SLNH

lung disease

nutmeg, powdered, rubbed on skin²

headhache

nutmeg, grated, cataplasm¹

juma (vertigo and weakness)

nutmeg, powdered, orally³

The Myristica fragans nut is a condiment of relatively widespread human consumption.

TRAMIL Work²⁵
For headaches and lung disease:
Grate the seed (nut powder) and apply 3-5 grams in a poultice on the forehead, or rub 10-15 grams on the chest and back.

For drunkenness (vertigo and weakness):
place 1 pinch (approximately 250 milligrams) of powder in 1 glass (250 millilitres) of water, punch or juice².

Preparations must never be stored for more than 24 hours, even if refrigerated.

According to the information available:

The use for headaches, drunkenness and lung disease is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in TRAMIL surveys and toxicity studies.

If deterioration is observed in the patient or the headache or drunkenness persists for more than 2 days or the lung disease for more than 5 days, seek medical attention.

Due to the health risk of lung disease, an initial medical assessment is recommended. The use of this resource must be considered complementary to medical treatment, unless contraindicated.

Adults should not ingest more than 500 mg/day of nut dust.

Not for use by pregnant women, during the breastfeeding period and by children under 3 years of age.

TRAMIL Work¹⁶
The powder of the nut (0.5 g on an area of 5 cm2/5 days), was applied topically on the healthy skin of 3 New Zealand rabbits, dermal irritation model. A primary irritation index of 0.05 was obtained during the 11-day observation period, and therefore the product was considered to be non-irritant.

The ethanolic extract (50%) from dried seeds (10 g/kg), orally in mice, did not cause signs of toxicity^17.

The LD₅₀ of the essential oil orally in rats was 2.6 g/kg¹⁸.

The essential oil presented an LD50 = 4.62 g/kg in mice and 6 g/kg in hamsters¹⁹.

The ingestion of a whole nut orally (7.5 and 15 g/person) in adults showed general toxic effects: abdominal pain, vomiting, elevation of urinary pH, leukocyte count, tachycardia, hypertension, hallucinations, lethargy, restlessness and insomnia²⁰.

The ingestion of a whole nut caused a clinical picture in a pregnant woman characterised by headache, stomach pain, respiratory distress and fever; she recovered after two days²¹. In another report, it caused facial redness and swelling, distal cyanosis, vomiting, delirium, sense of impending death, fear and euphoria in one person, who recovered after 5 days²².

External application of the seed showed no allergenic activity in humans²³.

The Myristica fragans nut is classified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in “GRAS” category (Generally Regarded as Safe)²⁴.

There is no information available documenting the safety of medicinal use in children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The nut contains a large quantity of essential oil whose main compounds are pinene, borneol, geraniol and eugenol, menthol derivatives, myrcene, nerol, β-phellandrene, piperitol, propanol, sabinene, safrole, α-styrene, terpinol, terpinene, terpineol, terpinolene, thujene, trimyristin, vanillin, bergamotene, bisabolene, cadinene, camphene, caryophyllene, 1,8-cineol, citronellol, copaene, cubebene, para-cymene,
elemicin, α-farnesene, α-fenchol, germacrene, humulene, limonene, linalool, malabaricone, myristicin; among others mono- and sesquiterpenes, phenylpropanoids, benzenoids, alkanes and lignans^4-9. It also contains a derivative of shikimic acid¹⁰.

Proximate analysis of 100 g of leaves¹¹: calories: 525; water: 6.2%; protein: 5.8%; fat: 36.3%; carbohydrates: 49.3%; fibre: 4%; ash: 2.3%; calcium: 184 mg; phosphorus: 213 mg; iron: 3 mg; sodium: 16 mg; potassium: 350 mg; carotene: 61 μg; thiamine: 0.35 mg; riboflavin: 0.06 mg; niacin: 1.30 mg.

The methanolic extract of the dry aril (1 g/kg), orally in mice, showed an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect¹².

The aqueous extract (decoction) of dried walnut (1 μg/ml), in vitro model of smooth muscle isolated from guinea pig, produced relaxing activity¹³.

The essential oil, in a model in fish via the external route, was a central nervous system depressant¹⁴; with an experimental model in guinea pigs it showed antitussive activity¹⁵.

Pharmacopoeia

Ed.3

References

1 JEAN-PIERRE L, 1988
TRAMIL survey. St. Lucia national herbarium, Castries, St Lucia.
2 GERMOSEN-ROBINEAU L, GERONIMO M, AMPARO C, 1984
Encuesta TRAMIL. enda-caribe, Santo Domingo, Rep. Dominicana.
3 CHARLES C, 1988
TRAMIL survey. Movement for Cultural Awareness MCA, Roseau, Dominica.
4 NUÑEZ MELENDEZ E, 1964
Plantas medicinales de Puerto Rico. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Univ. of Puerto Rico - Est. Exper. Agricola, 245.
5 SCHENK H, LAMPARSKY D, 1981
Analysis of nutmeg oil using chromatographic methods. J Chromatogr 204(1):391-395.
6 JANSSEN AM, CHIN NLJ, SCHEFFER JJC, BAERHEIM A, 1980
Screening for antimicrobial activity of some essential oils by the agar overlay technique. PharmWeekbl (Sci Ed) 8(6):289-292.
7 SUSUKI H, HARADA M, 1990
Identification of nutmeg by thin-layer chromatography and its introduction to Japanese standards for nonpharmacopoeial crude drugs. Eisei Shikensho Hokoku 108:98-100.
8 ORABI KY, MOSSA JS, EL-FERALY FS, 1991
Isolation and characterization of two antimicrobial agents from mace (Myristica fragans). J Nat Prod 54(3):856-859.
9 MATSUMOTO A, MATSUMOTO T, TOKUDA H, 1991
Lignans from mace as neoplasm inhibitors. Patent Japan Kokai Tokkio Koho, 03,287, 527.
10 HOSTETTMANN K, LEA P (Eds.), 1987
Biologically Active Natural Products. Oxford, England: Oxford Science Publications.
11 DUKE JA, ATCHLEY AA, 1986
Handbook of proximate analysis tables of higher plants. Boca Raton, USA: CRC Press.
12 OZAKI Y, SOEDIGDO S, WATTIMENA YR, SUGANDA AG, 1989
Antiinflammatory effect of mace, aril of Myristica fragans Houtt and its active principles. Jpn J Pharmacol 49(2):155-163.
13 ICHIKAWA K, KINOSHITA T, SANKAWA U, 1989
The screening of Chinese crude drugs for Ca2+ antagonist activity: identification of active principles from the aerial part of Pogostemon cablin and the fruits of Prunus mume. Chem Pharm Bull 37(2):345-348.
14 WESLEY-HADZIJA B, BOHING P, 1956
Influence of some essential oils on the central nervous system of fish. Ann Pharm Fr 14:283-289.
15 MORII L, 1987
Topical antitussive, expectorant, analgesic and sedative agents. Patent-Japan Kokai Tokkyo Koho 62(59):219.
16 PAZOS L, COTO T, CAIZA F, 2009
Irritación dérmica, dosis repetida en piel sana de conejos, del polvo del fruto de Myristica fragans. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos, LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.
17 MOKKHASMIT M, SWATDIMONGKOL K, SATRAWAHA P, 1971
Study on toxicity of Thai medicinal plants. Bull Dept Med Sci 12(2/4):36-65.
18 CARR CJ, 1973
Evaluation of the health aspects of nutmeg, mace and their essential oils as food ingredients. US NTIS PB REP PB-266-878:1-17.
19 DUKE J, 1985
Handbook of medicinal herbs. Boca Raton, USA: CRC Press.
20 TRUITT EB, CALLAWAY E, BRAUDE MC, KRANTZ JC, 1961
The pharmacology of myristicin. A contribution to the psychopharmacology of nutmeg. J Neuropsychiatry 2(4):205-210.
21 BARTLETT B, 1911
Nutmeg poisoning. Brit Med J 2:269.
22 JOHNSON J, 1906
Nutmeg poisoning. Brit Med J 2:984.
23 STAGER J, WUTHRICH B, JOHANSSON SG, 1991
Spice allergy in celery-sensitive patients. Allergy 46(6):475-478.
24 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, 2002
Food and drugs. Chapter I - Food and drug administration, department of health and human services. Part 182 - Substances generally recognized as safe. Sec. 182.10. Spices and other natural seasonings and flavorings. U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access, USA. 21(3):451-452. Feb. 24, 2003, URL: www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?CFRPart=…
25 CARBALLO A, 1995
Cálculo de concentración y dosis de las drogas vegetales TRAMIL: Mensuraciones farmacognósticas y aproximaciones técnico-clínicas. Laboratorio provincial de producción de medicamentos, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.

Disclaimer

The information provided is for educational purposes only for the benefit of the general public and health professionals. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. Since some parts of plants could be toxic, might induce side effects, or might have interactions with certain drugs, anyone intending to use them or their products must first consult with a physician or another qualified health care professional. TRAMIL has no responsibility whatsoever towards the user for any decision, action or omission made in relation to the information contained in this Pharmacopoeia.

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Myristica fragrans

Vernacular names

Dominican Republic:

Saint Lucia:

Dominica:

Dominica:

Geographical distribution

Botanical description

Voucher(s)

Pharmacopoeia

References

Disclaimer