Nutmeg ~ Myristica fragrans (Myristicaceae)

Nutmeg

Botanical Name: Myristica fragrans (Myristicaceae)

Common Name: Nutmeg

Other Names: Jatiphalam (Sanskrit), Jaiphal (Hindi), Rou Dou Kou (Chinese)

Part Used: Dried seed (commonly called nut) (oval, 2 to 3 x 2 cm), the kernel of a peach-like fruit[1]

Botany: The nutmeg tree is indigenous to the Banda Islands of Indonesia, near New Guinea, from where it was exported by Portuguese explorers. There is considerable evidence that it was available to peoples in South Asia and the Near East for centuries before that time through trade.[2] It has been successfully cultivated in Southern India.[3] Most nutmeg in the United States comes from the Caribbean, where it has become naturalized, especially from the island of Grenada. The outer covering of the seed, called mace, is also used as a cooking spice and herbal medicine.

Energetics: hot, drying, bitter, pungent, oily, heavy

Ayurveda Dosha Effects: Decreases vata and kapha, increases pitta

Ayurveda Tissues Affected: Plasma, muscle, marrow and nerve, reproductive

Chinese Channels Entered: Spleen, Large Intestine

Constituents: Volatile oil, fixed oil. The essential oil contains a large proportion of monoterpene hydrocarbons (88%) and contains myristicine and related compounds. Pinene, eugenol, camphene, sabinene (major constituent in volatile oil).[4] Phenylpropanoids (myristicin, elemicin, safrole).[5] The fixed oil, or “butter of nutmeg” contains myristicin (methoxysafrole), myristic acid (tetradecanoic acid, the 14-carbon, straight-chain unsaturated fatty acid) and a portion of the essential oil.

Actions: Aromatic, astringent[6], carminative, circulatory enhancer (Ayurveda- “stimulant”)[7], aphrodisiac (possible), rubefacient (oil externally)[8]

Chinese Actions: Warms middle burner, moves qi, eliminates pain

Indications: Anxiety, insomnia, hypertension, indigestion, intestinal gas, suppressed appetite, vomiting, premature ejaculation[9], diarrhea, cough, dyspnea, abdominal cramps[10]

Chinese Indications: Diarrhea, especially from cold deficient spleen and kidneys[11]

Contraindications: Diarrhea with heat, excessive tissue dryness, high heat (pitta). Ayurveda says nutmeg can cause mental dullness.

Toxicity: Myristicin strengthens the effect of tryptamine and moderately inhibits monoamine oxidases[12], both in vitro and in vivo[13]. Oil is anesthetic in animals.

Small doses of oil stimulate the gastrointestinal tract. Deaths from large overdoses have been reported, but there are is only one clear case in the literature. One other fatal case involved nutmeg in combination with a benzodiazapene, and so was debatable. From 1996