Nutmeg Is the Common Name of the Seed from Female

Nutmeg is the common name of the seed from female

Myristica fragrans

, a tree native to the SpiceIslands (the Moluccas, in the East Indies, now part of Indonesia). When the fruit of the tree matures, itsplits in two, exposing a single seed sheathed in a crimson aril. The aril, a fibrous covering, constitutesthe spice known as mace, and the seed is a whole nutmeg.Nutmeg has been known as a spice in the Middle East for at least 2500 years, but it was not introducedinto Europe until the Middle Ages. Dutch and Portuguese merchants monopolized the Europeannutmeg trade until 1843, when French and British interests succeeded in cultivating nutmeg trees in theWest Indies. There is a decided difference between East Indian and West Indian nutmeg.Like many other spices, nutmeg has a long history of medicinal use. Preparations of nutmeg havebeen used as analgesics, digestive stimulants, aphrodisiacs, amenorrheal agents, and hypnotics.Medicinal use has declined since the 18

th

century, save for a brief period at the end of the 18

th

century,when it was rumored to be an effective abortifacient. Several medical journals of this period reported ahigh incidence of nutmeg poisoning among women.The nutmeg is about half cellulose. The other major components are fats, 25-40%, and essential oils,8-15%. The former constitute the major portion of the expressed oil of nutmeg (obtained by distillingthe seed with steam). Both of these components contain thousands of different compounds, only ahandful of which have been identified. The expressed oil, also known as nutmeg butter, is composedprincipally

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