Nutmeg is known by many names, such Myristica fragrans, mace, magic, muscdier, muskatbaum, myristica, noz moscada, nuez moscada, and nux moschata. Nutmeg.
Article Content:
- .Basic Botanical Info:Nutmeg.
- .Description and Literature:Nutmeg.
- .Nutmeg and Its Origin.
- .Nutmeg Phytochemicals and Constituents:.
- .History in brief:Nutmeg.
- .Uses and Applications of Nutmeg.
- .Nutmeg Dosage,Preparations and Administrations.
- .Research Update:Nutmeg.
Uses and Applications of Nutmeg.
General use:
Nutmeg relaxes the muscles, sedates the body, and helps remove gas from the digestive track. It is most commonly used for stomach problems such as indigestion. It is also used for chronic nervous disorders, kidney disorders, and to prevent nausea and vomiting. In Chinese medicine, nutmeg is used to treat abdominal pain, diarrhea, inflammation, impotence, liver disease, and vomiting. In the Middle East, some cultures are said to use nutmeg in love potions as an aphrodisiac. The essential oil of nutmeg is used for rheumatic pain, toothaches, and bad breath. In Germany, it is used for problems related to the stomach and intestines, but this use is controversial. In homeopathy, nutmeg is used to treat anxiety or depression. Although nutmeg has been used to treat many ailments, it hasn't been proven to be useful or effective for any and it can be harmful. Nutmeg is used in medicines such as Vicks Vaporub, Agua del Carmen, Aluminum Free Indigestion, Incontinurina, Klosterfrau Magentoniuum, Melisana, and Nervospur.
Powdered nutmeg is rarely given alone, though it enters into the composition of a number of medicines. The expressed oil is sometimes used externally as a gentle stimulant, and it was once an ingredient of the Emplastrum picis.
The properties of mace are identical to those of the nutmeg. Dose, 5 to 20 grains.
Both nutmeg and mace are used for flatulence and to correct the nausea arising from other drugs, also to allay nausea and vomiting.
Nutmeg is an agreeable addition to drinks for convalescents.
Grated nutmeg mixed with lard makes an excellent ointment for piles.
In some places roasted nutmeg is applied internally as a remedy for leucorrhaoea. Dose of the powder, 5 to 20 grains. Fluid extract, 10 to 30 drops. Larger doses are narcotic and produce dangerous symptoms. Spirit, B.P., 5 to 20 drops.
Culinary use:
In Western cuisine, nutmeg and mace are more popular for cakes, crackers and stewed fruits; nutmeg is sometimes used to flavour cheese (fondue, Bechamel sauce). The combination of spinach with nutmeg is somewhat a classic, especially for Italian stuffed noodles. The greatest lovers of nutmeg in today's Europe, though, are the Dutch. They use it for cabbage, potato and other vegetables, but also for meat, soups, stews and sauces. Since quite a large fraction of nutmeg is today grown in Grenada, nutmeg has entered several Caribbean cuisines. In Grenada, it's omnipresent, the locals even eating nutmeg-flavoured ice cream! Nutmeg is an optional ingredient in a famous Caribbean spice paste, Jamaican jerk.
Nutmeg is the characteristic flavouring of sauce Bechamel (white sauce), which despite its French name is today common to several European cuisines. Wheat flour is dispersed in molten butter (temperature must be low to prevent browning), hot milk is added and the mixture is boiled till it thickens; the only spices used are nutmeg and ground white pepper. Sauce Bechamel is rarely served at the table, but more often used for the preparation of baked foods, for on baking it forms a delicious, golden brown surface, especially if sprinkled with some grated cheese (e.g., parmigiano).
Lasagna is one of Italy's most famous dishes: Flat noodle pasta pieces, stuffing (often meat sauce, ragu alla Bolognese, but also spinach or other vegetables) and often cheese are layered in a casserole, topped with a sauce and baked. Most recipes prescribe Bechamel sauce, but some lasagne are actually prepared using a fruity tomato sauce. A somewhat similar recipe from Greece is mousaka, made from an aromatically spiced ground meat sauce and vegetables, most often aubergines, also arranged in layers. The sauce used for that recipe is of Bechamel type, but also contains egg and cheese, which gives a less liquid texture and a phantastic, flavourful crust after baking.
The classical French spice mixture quatre epices (meaning "four spices"), which goes back to cooking traditions in the baroque era, contains nutmeg in combination with much white pepper (some variants use black pepper), cloves and ginger; further, optional ingredients are allspice and cinnamon. All components are finely ground together. The resulting powder is mostly used to flavour meat dishes, especially such which are cooked or braised for a rather long time, e.g. stews and ragouts, sometimes also for sausages and pastries. In character, it is a kind of "enhanced" and "fortified" pepper; thus, it may be used whenever black pepper is prescribed, but a richer and deeper aroma is desired.
Since quite a large fraction of nutmeg is today grown in Grenada, nutmeg has entered several Caribbean cuisines. In Grenada, it's omnipresent, the locals even eating nutmeg-flavoured ice cream (see also vanilla)! Nutmeg is an optional ingredient in a famous Caribbean spice paste, Jamaican jerk (see allspice).
Medicinal and other use:
In Indonesia, the (woody and very sour) pulp is used to make a delicious jam with fine nutmeg aroma. In Malaysia the fleshy outer husk is crystallized or pickled and then sold as a delicious snack.Nutmeg is a narcotic in excess quantities. It is astringent, a stimulant and an aphrodisiac. Nutmeg oil is used in perfumes and ointments.
Nutmeg and mace have been used for centuries to treat gas, indigestion, nausea, vomiting and other stomach as well as kidney problems. Mix thoroughly 1-1/2 tsps. of powdered slippery elm bark and dashes of powdered nutmeg and mace together with a little cold water in order to form a smooth paste that's not lumpy. Then bring a pint of half-and-half to the boiling point, removing immediately from the heat and quickly adding the powdered herb and spice paste. Keep stirring with a wooden ladle for about half a minute until the paste is thoroughly mixed in. Let it cool until lukewarm before drinking 1/2 cup. Repeat this procedure three times daily, always drinking the mixture warm to help heal stomach problems.
Nutmeg is used in both Western and Chinese herbal medicine. It is most popular as a spice in food and drinks, and is also used in cosmetics and soaps. In ancient Greece and Rome, where nutmeg was rare and expensive, people thought it stimulated the brain. The Arabs have used nutmeg since the seventh century.
Digestive problems: Nutmeg essential oil has an anesthetic and stimulating effect on the stomach and intestines, increasing appetite and reducing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. It is a helpful remedy for many digestive problems, especially gastroenteritis.
Chinese medicine: In China, nutmeg is used specifically for diarrhea, helping to bind and warm the intestines and relieve abdominal pain and distension due to "cold."
Aphrodisiac: In India, nutmeg has a long reputation as an aphrodisiac. Nutmeg is believed to increase sexual stamina.
External uses: Ointments based on the fixed oil (nutmeg butter) are used to treat rheumatic conditions. They have a counterirritant effect, stimulating blood flow to the area. In India, nutmeg is ground into a paste and applied directly to areas of eczema and ringworm.
Safety: Low medicinal doses and culinary amounts of nutmeg and mace are safe. In excess, however, the herbs are strongly stimulant, hallucinogenic, and toxic. The consumption of just 2 whole nutmegs has been known to cause death .Myristicin is the constituent most responsible for this toxicity, and it is also hallucinogenic. In addition, safrole in isolation and at a high dosage is carcinogenic.
Homeopathy:
Nutmeg has been widely used since AD 540 when it was brought from India to Constantinople. It was used as a cosmetic to remove freckles. Medicinally, it was first mentioned by Avicenna in the 11 th century, who called it "the nut of Banda." It was given for stomach upsets, headaches, and to ease gas. It has also been taken as a hallucinogen. The essential oil is good for rheumatic pain.
Nux mosch. is given for mental illness, hysteria, problems of the nervous system, and digestive complaints. It also treats the same hallucinogenic symptoms that are caused by large doses of nutmeg, such as drowsiness, with dizziness, fainting, and lack of coordination. Such symptoms may occur after a stroke or in epilepsy.
It is also good for gas with constipation and bloating in the digestive tract associated with indigestion and gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining). People who need this remedy are markedly dehydrated, but are not thirsty.
Nutmeg spice:
A spice, native to the Spice Islands, that is used to add a sweet and savory flavor to a variety of foods. It is made from the seed inside the hard pit of the peach-like fruit grown on the nutmeg tree. The yellow colored fruit is edible and when split open, exposes a net-like casing that covers the nutmeg pit. The casing around the pit, referred to as mace, is also harvested, dried and used as a spice. When first removed from the nutmeg seed, this mesh casing or membrane (aril) is oval shaped and somewhat brittle. It is flattened, dried and sold as mace blades or ground mace. Like nutmeg, mace has a sweet and flavorful spice, which can be substituted for nutmeg or cinnamon to complement a variety of foods. Food manufacturers use mace to flavor hot dogs and donuts. It is used for infusions when preparing sauces or flavored milk and as a complement to fish, meat, and other dishes. Ground nutmeg is available prepackaged, but fresh whole nutmeg, that is grated, provides more flavor than the prepackaged variety. When grating a whole nutmeg, the best tool to use is a special nutmeg grater or grinder. Nutmeg is most often used with sweet or spicy dishes such as pies, custards, puddings, cookies, cakes, and beverages such as milk or egg-based beverages, mulled wine, and punch. And, it adds a nice flavor to souffles, vegetables, egg dishes, sausages, lamb, and fish.
Properties and Functions:
Pungent in flavor, warm in nature, it is related to the spleen, stomach and large intestine channels.
Astringes the intestines to arrest diarrhea, warms the spleen and stomach and activates the flow of qi.
Actions: aromatic, carminative, spasmolytic, antiemetic, orexigenic, gastric secretory stimulant, prostaglandin inhibiting anti-inflammatory, cerebral stimulant, antispasmodic, hallucinogenic.
Indications: flatulent dyspepsia, nausea, diarrhoea, dysentery; topically for rheumatism
Therapeutics and Pharmacology: Myrica is of value in the treatment of dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea (especially if related to food poisoning), dysentery, intestinal spasm, colic, and inflammatory disease of the gut wall. In small quantities it acts on the stomach to improve the appetite and digestion. In trials, it has been used successfully to treat Crohn's disease. In France, it is given in drop doses in honey for digestive upsets and halitosis. Externally, the oil is used for rheumatic pain and, like clove oil, can be applied as an emergency treatment for toothache. Grieve suggests an ointment of grated nutmeg and lard for the treatment of haemorrhoids.
Applications:
1.Treats prolonged and incessant diarrhea due to deficiency-cold of the spleen and kidneys: Pungent and astringent in taste and warm in nature, this herb can not only astringe the intestines to arrest diarrhea or dysentery, but also warm the spleen and stomach.
a) Prolonged and incessant diarrhea due to deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach: It is often used together with cassia bark, Dangshen (Radix Codonopsis Pilosulae), largehead atractylodes rhizome (Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae), myrobalan fruit (Fructus Chebalae), etc., to warm the spleen and stomach, strengthen the spleen and astringe the intestines to arrest diarrhea.
b) Diarrhea before dawn due to yang-deficiency of the spleen and kidneys: The herb can be used together with malaytea scurfpea (Fructus Psoraleae), Chinese magnoliavine fruit (Fructus Schisandrae), evodia fruit, etc., e.g., Sishen Wan.
c) Chronic diarrhea: Nutmeg (Roudoukou) is used with Chebula fruit (Hezi), White atractylodes (Baizhu) and Pilose asiabell root (Dangshen).
2.Treats abdominal distention and pain, anorexia (loss of appetite) and vomiting due to stomach cold and qi stagnation: Pungent in taste, fragrant in smell, warm in nature and drying in property, this herb can warm the spleen and stomach, activate the flow of qi and kill pain. It is often used with aucklandia root, dried ginger, pinellia tuber, etc.
3.To warm the spleen and stomach and promote circulation of qi.
4.Qi stagnation due to deficiency and cold in the spleen and stomach manifested as epigastric and abdominal pain, vomiting and nausea. Nutmeg (Roudoukou) is used with Costus root (Muxiang), Fresh ginger (Shengjiang) and Pinellia tuber (Banxia).
Decoction: Decoct 5 g with 2 g ginger, 2 g licorice, 5 g wu wei zi, 5 g wu zhu yu, and 10 g bu gu zhi in 600 ml water (three doses), and take one dose three times a day for early morning diarrhea or chronic colitis.
Capsules: Take 1-2 x 200 mg capsules for nausea, indigestion, gastric upsets, and chronic diarrhea.
Oil: Put 1-2 drops on a cotton swab, and apply to the gums around an aching tooth until dental treatment can be obtained. Use 3 - 5 drops on a sugar lump or in a teaspoon of honey for nausea, gastroenteritis, chronic diarrhea, and indigestion.
Massage Oil: Dilute 10 drops in 10 ml almond oil, and use for muscular pains associated with rheumatism or overexertion. Can also be combined with thyme or rosemary essential oils. To prepare for childbirth, massage the abdomen daily in the three weeks before the baby is due with a mixture of 5 drops nutmeg oil and no more than 5 drops sage oil in 25 ml almond oil.
Reference:
1.Nutmeg is known by many names, such Myristica fragrans, mace, magic, muscdier, muskatbaum, myristica, noz moscada, nuez moscada, and nux moschata. Nutmeg.
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