Nutmeg

Nutmeg

　　Nutmeg is mentioned in *Treatise on the Properties of Medicines* (*Compendium of Materia Medica*), *Supplement to the Prescriptions of Eminent Physicians*, (*Chinese Medical Sea*), and *Illustrated Classic of Materia Medica*: Nowadays, nutmeg is only cultivated by households in Lingnan. It sprouts in spring, and its flowers and fruits resemble those of cardamom but are rounder and smaller, with a purple, tight, and thin skin, and a pungent flesh inside. It is harvested in June and July. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: Nutmeg bears flowers and fruits; although its shape resembles that of Java cardamom, the texture of its skin and flesh differs, with an outer wrinkled surface and mottled flesh marked with patterns similar to those of betel nuts. It is highly prone to insect infestation, but drying and sealing help preserve it somewhat.

　　Nutmeg is an evergreen tree that can grow up to 20m tall. Its leaves are alternate; elliptic-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 5–15cm long, leathery, tapering to a point at the tip, abruptly narrowed at the base, entire, pale yellowish-brown above, darker below with reddish-brown veins; petioles 6–12mm long. The plant is dioecious; male inflorescences are racemes 2.5–5cm long; bracts are scale-like; flowers are sparse, yellowish-white, oval or urn-shaped, 6mm long, pendulous; there are 9–12 stamens fused into a cylindrical, stalked column. The fruit is pear-shaped or nearly spherical, pendulous, 3.5–6cm long, pale red or yellow, and splits longitudinally into two valves when ripe, revealing a bright red aril. The seed is spheroid, with a reddish-brown, woody seed coat.

　　Medication Overview

　　Medicinal name: Nutmeg

　　Pinyin: roudoukou.

　　English name: Nutmeg.

　　Latin botanical name: Myristica fragrans Houtt.

　　Efficacy category: Astringent; Warming interior; Qi-regulating.

　　Family classification: Myristicaceae.

　　Also known as: Jiakule, Doukou, Rouguo, Dingtou Rou, Yuguo, Zhadi, Mashī.

　　Flavor and nature: Pungent; Bitter; Warm.

　　Meridians entered: Spleen; Stomach; Large Intestine.

　　Functions: Warms the middle and astringes the intestines; regulates qi and aids digestion.

　　Indications: Deficiency diarrhea; cold dysentery; epigastric and abdominal distension and pain; poor appetite with vomiting; undigested food accumulation.

　　Usage and dosage: Oral administration: Decoction, 1.5–6g; or made into pills or powder.

　　Ecological environment: Widely cultivated in tropical regions.

　　Resource distribution: Distributed in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, etc. Introduced and trial-planted in Taiwan, Hainan, Guangdong, Yunnan, and other areas of China.

　　Herbal source: The seeds of the nutmeg plant from the Myristicaceae family.

　　Harvesting and storage: Flowers and fruits appear 6–7 years after planting, yields increase after 10 years, and peak production is reached at 25 years. The fruiting period lasts 60–70 years, with two peak fruiting seasons: May–July and October–December. Harvest ripe fruits, remove the outer skin, peel off the aril, and slowly dry the seeds at a low temperature of 45°C while frequently turning them. When the seeds rattle upon shaking, they are ready. Temperatures above 45°C cause fat to dissolve, resulting in loss of aroma and quality degradation.

　　Processing methods:

　　1. Roasted nutmeg (roasted nut meat): Wash, then wrap with white flour mixed with water. Heat snakegourd powder or talcum powder in a pan, add the wrapped nutmeg, stir-fry until the outer flour turns yellowish-brown, then remove, discard the flour coating, and slice while hot. Alternatively, rinse the raw herb briefly, soak in a basket for 12 hours, then stir-fry with bran in a pan until golden brown. Remove, sieve out the bran, slice while hot.

　　2. Steamed preparation: Soak clean nutmeg for 1 hour, remove and place in a steamer, alternating layers of bran and nutmeg. Steam for about 2 hours until the oil seeps into the bran, remove the bran promptly, slice thickly, dry, or crush for use.

　　3. Stir-fried preparation: Pour wheat flour into a pan, heat gently over low flame, add nutmeg, stir-fry until light yellow, then remove, sieve out the flour, spread out, cool, and crush before formulating. Use 50kg of wheat flour per 100kg of nutmeg.

　　4. Clay preparation: Heat fine yellow clay in a pan until foamy, add nutmeg, stir continuously, roast until fully heated and oil exudes (avoid burning black), remove, sieve out the clay, and crush before use.

　　5. Frost preparation: Crush nutmeg into a paste. Wrap in multiple layers of oiled paper, press to extract oil, and repeat pressing until all oil is removed.

　　Pharmacological actions

　　1. Sedative and hypnotic effects: The methyl isoeugenol contained in the volatile oil of this herb inhibits the central nervous system. In rabbits, intravenous injection of 50mg/kg causes the disappearance of righting reflex, pain reflex, and auditory reflex during sleep, with an average sleep duration of 20 minutes and 8 seconds. It also enhances the hypnotic effect of pentobarbital.

　　2. Antibacterial effect: Methyl isoeugenol exhibits MIC values of 0.4 mg/ml and 0.6 mg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus and Diplococcus pneumoniae, respectively. Mallotus B demonstrates strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and Streptococcus durans, with MICs of 1 μg/ml for the first two and 2 μg/ml for the latter. Mallotus C has an MIC of 2 μg/ml against Bacillus subtilis.

　　3. - effect: Methyl eugenol and elemicin in the volatile oil of this product have a - effect in mice, rabbits, cats, and dogs after intravenous administration.

　　4. Other effects:

　　Irritation to the gastrointestinal tract: The volatile oil contained in this product can irritate the gastrointestinal tract and also has an antispasmodic effect. Small doses can promote gastric juice secretion and stimulate gastrointestinal motility, while large doses inhibit them.

　　Alanine aminotransferase-lowering effect: It also has the effect of reducing alanine aminotransferase levels in the serum of rats.