THE  AMEKICAH" 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 
DECEMBER,  1908 
CHEMICAL  EXAMINATION  AND  PHYSIOLOGICAL 
ACTION  OF  NUTMEG. 
By  Frederick  B.  Power  and  Arthur  H.  Salway. 
A  Contribution  from  the  Wellcome  Chemical  Research  Laboratories,  London. 
The  nutmeg,  although  considerably  used  as  a  condiment  or 
flavoring  agent,  and  to  some  extent  medicinally  as  an  aromatic 
stimulant,  has  long  been  known  to  possess  a  decided  narcotic 
action  when  administered  in  any  appreciable  amount.  The  general 
recognition  of  this  property  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  it  is 
recorded  in  many  of  the  standard  works  descriptive  of  the  materia 
medica,  as  the  following  few  abstracts  will  indicate. 
The  "  United  States  Dispensatory,"  nineteenth  edition,  p.  799, 
makes  the  following  statement :  "  Nutmeg  unites  to  the  medicinal 
properties  of  the  ordinary  aromatics  considerable  narcotic  power.  In 
the  quantity  of  two  or  three  drachms  (7.7  or  11.6  grammes),  it  has 
been  known  to  produce  stupor  and  delirium,  and  dangerous  if  not 
fatal  consequences  are  said  to  have  followed  its  free  use  in  India." 
The  "  National  Standard  Dispensatory,"  p.  990,  remarks  as  follows : 
"  Nutmeg  possesses  aromatic,  narcotic,  and  intoxicating  properties. 
Given  in  overdose  it  produces  stupor,  decreased  reflex  excitability, 
slowness  of  respiration,  and  slight  cardiac  sedation."  The  "  Phar- 
macographia  Indica,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  193,  records  the  following  infor- 
mation :  "  Mahometan  doctors  describe  nutmegs  and  mace  as 
stimulating,  narcotic,  digestive,  tonic,  and  aphrodisiac."  Also  Ibid., 
p.   196:     "  The  narcotic  effects  of  nutmegs  noticed  by  the  old 
(563) 
