Scientific Name  NUTMEG TREE (Myristica fragrans Houtt. )  Jaifal has greatmedicinal value in traditional medicine.

Family         Myristicaceae

Used Part     Seeds

Distribution Area In India, it is grown in Madras State     (Nilgiris, Coimbatore,Salem, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli,Kanyakumari     and Maduraidistricts); a few trees are found in various localities in     Kerala, Assam and otherStates.

Common Uses . Nutmeg and maceconstitute the herbal drug `Prajana' possessing   neurological activity. The drug reducesspontaneous locomotor    activity in adose dependant manner without affecting forced    locomotor activity. It potentiatedphenobarbitone sleeping time. In    all,it exerted only a moderate degree of CNS depression. Mace is    found to be non-toxic, whereas nutmeg hasan LD50 of 1320 mg/kg    i.p. InAyurveda, nutmeg and mace are considered useful in heart    disease.

Similar crudedrugs Bombay nutmeg is obtained from                      M.malabarica

ChemicalConstituent--Analysisof nutmeg gave the following values: moisture,     14.3; protein, 7.5; ether extr., 36.4;carbohydrates, 28.5; fibre,     11.6; andmineral mater, 1.7%: calcium, 0.12; and phosphorus, 0.24%;     iron, 4.6 mg./100 g. Nutmeg contains avolatile oil (6-16%), starch    (14.6-24.2%), pentosans (2.25%), furfural (1.5%) and pectin (0.5-0.6%).The principal constituents are a fixed oil, a volatile oil and starch.According to the specification of the Health Ministry, Government of

                     India, nutmegspice shall contain : total ash not >5%; non-volatile ether     extr., not 25%; and crude fibre, not>10%; for medicinal use, it should   contain not less than 5% volatile oil and not more than 3% ash.  The flavour and therapeutic action are due tothe volatile oil. The percentage of volatileoil in nutmeg varies from     6to 16%,according to the origin and quality of the spice. A sample     from Travancore gave 10.2% volatile oil.Wormy nutmegs give a much     higheryield than do sound ones; in the former, most of the fixed oil,    present in the endosperm which tends toretain the volatile oil during   distillation, would have been devoured by worms, while the strongly     aromatic oil in the inner layer ofperisperm remains intact.      Commercialoil is derived from broken and wormy nutmegs. The material     is comminuted, pressed to remove fixedoil, and immediately subjected     tosteam-distillation. Loss of volatile oil from ground nutmegs is     relatively rapid (c. 80% in 2 months).Cohobation of distilled waters     may benecessary for the recovery of the total oil.

                     The major components of oilfrom seeds are d -Pinene and d -camphene ; together they constitute c.80% ofthe oil.                      Other constituents present are ß-pinene, dipentene, p -cymene, d -    linalool, 1-terpinen-4-ol, dl-a- terpineol,geraniol, safrole, eugenol,   isoeugenol, an aldehyde with citral odour, myristicin (3-methoxy-4:5-    methylenedioxy-1-allylbenzene), myristicacid and esters of myristic    and otherfatty acids. Myristicin is toxic; when ingested in large     amounts, it is liable to cause fattydegeneration of the liver       

Comments   The plants are generally dioecious; occasiobally male trees aftera     number of years produce femaleflowers and eventually become female.     In plantations raised from seeds there are usually more male than     female trees and there is no means ofdetermining the sex until the     plantsare 6-7 years old and begin to bear flowers. In order to ensure     a sufficient number of female trees in theplantation, two sedlings are     plantedclose together and the one which may subsequently prove to be     the female is retained. In case there aretoo many male trees in a     plantation,they may be headed back and grafted with scions from female    trees. Grafting may be made on seedlings ofspecies other than those     of M.fragrans ; in S.India, trials have shown that M. beddomei and     M. malabarica  are useful as seedling stock.

                     The harvested ripe fruitwith the     valves split, discloses theseed with a shell-like testa covered by a    scarlet fibrous aril. After collection, the pericarp is removed and     the seed separated from the aril anddried. Drying is complete when     thekernel rattles in the shell. The shells are cracked off with     wooden hammers or by suitable mechanicalmeans and the kernels removed   andsorted. Dried kernels constitute the nutmeg of commerce.East Indian nutmeg isavailable in three grades: (i ) Banda nutmeg,     considered to be the finest for use andcontaining up to 8% essential    oil; (ii) Siauw nutmeg, almost as good as Banda, but containing c.6.5%     essential oil; and (iii ) Penang nutmeg,which is usually wormy and     moldy andsuitable only for distillation purposes; Papua nutmeg is     derived not from M. fragrans but from theallied species M. argentea     Warb.; itis sometimes classed as the fourth grade of East Indian     nutmeg and can be distinguished from thetrue nutmeg by its     comparatively longsize, peculiar shape, absence of external spots,    poor aromatic odour and acrid taste. Bombay nutmeg is obtainedfrom     M.malabarica ; it is longand narrow in shape and nearly destitute of    aroma; it is used as adulterant of true nutmeg. Fictitious nutmegis     prepared from exhausted or damagednutmeg; the material is moulded into    shape and sometimes used as an adulterant of true nutmeg.