Introduction

Nutmeg is a plant which bears seeds, and said seeds are ground into a powder and commonly referred to as Nutmeg. Nutmeg contains many essential volatile oils. It is used as home remedy and as a ingredient of many Ayurvedic medicines. It is very effective herb for aphrodisiacs herb which improve sexual time.

Basic Information

Botanical name	Myristica fragrans Houtt.
Family name	Myristicaceae
English name	Nutmeg
Hindi name	Jayphala
Synonyms	Jatiphala Jatikosha Maltiphala

Plant Identification – Habitat

Nutmeg is a seed. Nutmeg tree is dark leaved evergreen tree with height of about 20 metres (65 feet). They yield fruit eight years after sowing, reach their prime in 25 years, and bear fruit for 60 years or longer. It is cultivated for two spices, nutmeg from its seed, and mace, from the seed covering.

Fruit

The fruit is a pendulous drupe, similar in appearance to an apricot. When fully mature it splits in two, exposing a crimson-coloured aril, the mace, surrounding a single shiny brown seed, the nutmeg. The pulp of the fruit is eaten locally. After collection the aril-enveloped nutmegs are conveyed to curing areas where the mace is removed, flattened out, and dried.

The nutmegs are dried gradually in the sun and turned twice daily over a period of six to eight weeks. During this time the nutmeg shrinks away from its hard seed coat until the kernels rattle in their shells when shaken. The shell is then broken with a wooden truncheon and the nutmegs are picked out. Dried nutmegs are grayish brown ovals with furrowed surfaces.

Leaves

The branches spread in whorls – alternate leaves, on petioles about 1 inch long, elliptical, glabrous, obtuse at base – acuminate, aromatic, dark green and glossy above, paler underside and 4 to 6 inches long.

Flowers

Flowers are dioecious, small in axillary racemes. Male flowers three to five more on a peduncle. Calyx urceolate, thick and fleshy, covered with an indistinct reddish pubescence dingy pale yellow, cut into three erect teeth. Female flowers differ little from the male, except pedicel is often solitary.

Chemical Composition

Nutmeg is very effective herb to treat many diseases due to its chemical compositions. It has many active components, some of these are as follows –

• Myristic acid
• Myristicin
• D-pinin
• Sephrol
• Balsom
• Eugenol
• Iso-euginol

Nutritional Value

Nutmeg is generally not used as food supplement but it has a great nutritional value. 100 gm powder of nutmeg has –

• Calories – 525 KJ
• Fat – 36 gm
• Carbohydrate – 49 gm
• Dietary fiber – 21 gm
• Protein – 5.8 gm
• Calcium – 184 mg
• Sodium – 16 mg
• Iron – 3.04 mg
• Potassium – 350 mg

Properties

• Rasa –
  • Tikta (bitter)
  • Katu (pungent)
• Guna–
  • Laghu (easy to digest)
  • Tikshana (sharp)
• Virya – Ushna (hot in potency)
• Vipaka– Katu (pungent)

Impact on Dosha

Nutmeg is very much effective herb. It pacify Kapha and Vata Dosha due to hot potency.

Nutmeg is very effective medicine for diarrhoea, Pain, skin disease, indigestion, worms, cough, fever, inflammation, erectile dysfunction, and insomnia.

Useful part

Nutmeg can be regularly used. It is beneficial for a healthy person and diseased person too. Most useful part of nutmeg is fruit as nutmeg and fruit covering as mace.

Doses

Dose of nutmeg depends on its form and part in which it is used. Dose of mostly used part is –

• Powder of nutmeg – 500 mg to 1 gm
• Oil of nutmeg – 1 to 3 drops

Mixing of other products or Adulteration

Nutmeg, whether whole or crushed/ground, is often intentionally adulterated with other members of the genus Myristica fragrans or by inferior parts of nutmeg  like shell, fruit pulp or extracted product.

Read: Haridra

References

• Nutrition Facts
• No more nutmegging with nutmeg: Analytical fingerprints for distinction of quality from low-grade nutmeg products