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Herb library · Herb · Myristica fragrans

Nutmeg

The seed of a tropical evergreen, a kitchen spice whose industry is a major part of Grenada's economy. In cooking amounts it is recognized as safe; in large amounts it is a poison, and poison centers see people who took it to get high.

Serious warning

Nutmeg is toxic in large amounts. LactMed says a spoonful can cause intoxication, and US and Swiss poison centers report racing heart, agitation and hallucinations after people swallowed large amounts, often on purpose.

Traditional use

Nutmeg and mace (the red covering of the seed) are old remedies in Indian, Arab and European medicine; Sanskrit texts class them as hot and digestive. Dutt's 1877 compilation from Sanskrit medical works records that both entered many compound medicines as aromatics, and Ainslie wrote in 1826 that people in South India counted nutmeg among their most valued medicines for indigestion and gave it to children struggling at weaning. In the Caribbean, nutmeg is a major industry in Grenada, and a trial in Trinidad tested a nutmeg-oil rub for diabetic nerve pain.

Traditional energetics

What studies show

  • Insufficient

    Diabetic nerve pain: in a 2013 randomized trial in Trinidad (74 people), a rub containing nutmeg and mace oil did no better after 4 weeks than the same rub without them; both groups improved.

  • Insufficient

    Breastfeeding and other uses: LactMed says no data exist on the safety or usefulness of nutmeg in nursing mothers or infants.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • AmountHigh doses, such as a spoonful, can cause intoxication with a racing heart, agitation and hallucinations. Poison centers in Illinois, Texas, California and Switzerland report such cases, many of them teenagers taking it deliberately, and a social-media nutmeg challenge in 2020–21.
  • NoteKeep ground nutmeg away from young children: the Illinois Poison Center found more accidental exposures in children under 13 than expected, some in the eyes.
  • InteractionMixing nutmeg with other drugs led to more serious cases among adolescents in the Illinois review; one needed a breathing machine.
  • PregnancyLactMed advises avoiding nutmeg and mace in amounts higher than those used to flavor food while breastfeeding. No pregnancy safety information was found in the sources used here.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“Both nutmegs and mace enter into the composition of numerous medicines as aromatic adjuncts, but there is no peculiarity in their use that need special consideration here. An infusion of nutmegs is recommended by several writers as a serviceable drink in the thirst of cholera patients.”
Udoy Chand Dutt, The Materia Medica of the Hindus (1877), p. 224. See the page of The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 224 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 224
“it is considered by the natives of India as one of their most valuable medicines in dyspeptic complaints, and in all cases requiring cardiacs, and corroborants; they likewise prescribe it to such puny children as appear to suffer much in weaning.”
Whitelaw Ainslie, Materia Indica (1826), vol. 1, p. 249. See the page of Materia Indica, vol. 1, p. 249 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Materia Indica, vol. 1, p. 249
“Both of these spices probably became known in India through the Hindu colonists in Java and the Eastern Islands. From India they would appear to have reached Persia and Eastern Europe.”
William Dymock, C. J. H. Warden and David Hooper, Pharmacographia Indica (1890), vol. 3, p. 192. See the page of Pharmacographia Indica, vol. 3, p. 192 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Pharmacographia Indica, vol. 3, p. 192

Sources

  1. Nutmeg — Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), NCBI Bookshelf (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Nutmeg poisonings: a retrospective review of 10 years experience from the Illinois Poison Center, 2001–2011 (J Med Toxicol, 2014) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Nutmeg intoxication in Texas, 1998–2004 (Hum Exp Toxicol, 2005) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. The spice of life: an analysis of nutmeg exposures in California (Clin Toxicol, 2011) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Intoxication with nutmeg: a case presentation and analysis of Swiss poisons information center enquiries 2014–2023 (Toxicol Rep, 2026) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  6. Nutmeg extracts for painful diabetic neuropathy: a randomized, double-blind, controlled study (J Altern Complement Med, 2013) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  7. Occupational exposure and respiratory health problems among nutmeg production workers in Grenada, the Caribbean (Int J Occup Environ Health, 2017) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.