Ill OCH 
3 3 3 
IV -O-CH,-O- OCH, 
V -O-CH,-O- H 
Preliminary evaluation of elemicin (Schlemmer et al. 1973) 
has shown that it produces the same behavioural effect in mice 
as do many of the known hallucinogens, when evaluated by the 
Corne and Pickering model (Corne and Pickering 1967). This 
observation suggests that elemicin, in addition to myristicin 
(Shulgin et al. 1967; Truitt et al. 1961), contributes to the 
psychotomimetic effect of nutmeg. 
It should be emphasized that safrole is a known weak 
carcinogen (Farnsworth et al. 1976) and that prolonged use of 
nutmeg or other materials containing safrole could have serious 
implications. 
For hallucinating purposes, ground nutmeg is taken orally in 
large doses, usually several teaspoonsful. The effects vary appre- 
ciably but are often characterized by distortion of perception of 
time and space, dizziness, tachycardia, dry mouth, headache and 
occasionally visual hallucinations (Forrest and Heacock 1972; 
Kalbhen 1971; Weil 1965, 1966, 1967). 
Myristicin has been identified as a component of cigarette 
smoke (Schmeltz et al. 1966). 
144 
