Nutmeg Oil, 5 cc. About 100 drops.

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Nutmeg Oil, 5 cc. About 100 drops.

Nutmeg is a popular spice consisting of the seed of the Myristica fragrans, a tropical evergreen tree native to the Moluccas or Spice Islands of Indonesia. Nutmeg has a characteristic, pleasant fragrance and a slightly warm taste. It is used to flavor many kinds of baked goods, confections, puddings, meats, sausages, sauces, vegetables, and such beverages as eggnog. Grated Nutmeg has long been used as a sachet, and the Romans used it as incense. Nutmeg Oil is obtained by steam distilling of ground Nutmeg and is used widely in the perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. Nutmeg Oil is colorless or light yellow and smells and tastes of Nutmeg. Nutmeg Oil may be helpful as nutritional support for the body’s natural tendency in easing colic, flatulent dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal distention and bad breath.

One of the most widely used domestic spices, Nutmeg also has an excellent reputation as a soothing tonic for the digestive tract. Nutmeg may ease flatulent dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal distention and bad breath. Nutmeg is also used by traditional practitioners to alleviate headaches and abdominal spasms, as well as occasional diarrhea.

Appearance

The Nutmeg tree is a large evergreen native to the Moluccas (the Spice Islands) and is now cultivated in the West Indies. The Nutmeg tree produces two spices: Mace and Nutmeg. The Nutmeg seed is encased in a mottled yellow, edible fruit, about the size and shape of a small peach. The fruit splits in half to reveal a net-like, bright red covering over the seed. This is the aril, or seed cover, which is collected, dried and sold as mace. Under the aril is a dark shiny nut-like pit, and inside that is the oval shaped seed. This is the Nutmeg.

History

The Arabs were the exclusive importers of nutmeg to Europe up until 1512, when Vasco da Gama reached the Moloccas and claimed the islands for Portugal. To preserve their new monopoly, the Portuguese (and from 1602, the Dutch) restricted the trees to the islands of Banda and Amboina. Special cautions were needed because anyone possessing the spice could easily propagate it since the part of the fruit used as a spice is also the seed. As a preventative measure, the Dutch bathed the seeds in lime, thus rendering them infertile. This plan was thwarted however, by fruit pigeons that carried the seeds to other islands before they could receive their lime coating. Despite these precautions, the French, led by horticulturist Pierre Poivre, smuggled nutmeg seeds out of the Moluccas and started a plantation on the island of Mauritius, off the east coast of Africa, near Madagascar. In 1796 the British took over the Moloccas and spread nutmeg cultivation to other East Indian islands and then to the Caribbean. Nutmeg was so successful in Grenada that this tiny nation now calls itself the Nutmeg Island. In the Western world during medieval times Nutmeg was lauded for possessing magical powers. Tucking a nutmeg into the left armpit before attending a social event was believed to attract admirers. Nutmegs were often used as amulets to protect against a wide variety of dangers and evils, from boils to rheumatism to broken bones and other misfortunes. Peasants carried nutmegs everywhere and many wore little nutmeg graters made of silver, ivory or wood, often with a compartment for the nuts.

The use of this herbal supplement is a traditional nutritional use that is not intended to be prescribed for, or to treat any disease, and does not claim to cure any disease, including diseases involving fevers, colds, flu or invading organisms.