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Nutmeg oil is a volatile essential oil from nutmeg (Myristica fragrans).[1] The oil is colorless or light yellow and smells and tastes of nutmeg.[2] It contains numerous components of interest to the oleochemical industry.[3] The essential oil consists of approximately 90% terpene hydrocarbons.[4] Prominent components are sabinene, α-pinene, β-pinene, and limonene.[5] A major oxygen-containing component is terpinen-4-ol.[6] The oil also contains small amounts of various phenolic compounds and aromatic ethers, e.g. myristicin, elemicin, safrole, and methyl eugenol. The phenolic fraction is considered main contributor to the characteristic nutmeg odor.[7] However, in spite of the low oil content, the characteristic composition of nutmeg oil makes it a valuable product for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, an improved process for its extraction would be of industrial interest.[8]

General uses

The essential oil is obtained by the steam distillation of ground nutmeg and is used heavily in the perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. The nutmeg essential oil is used as a natural food flavoring in baked goods, syrups, beverages (e.g. Coca-Cola), sweets, etc. It can then be used to replace ground nutmeg, as it leaves no particles in the food. The essential oil is also used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries for instance in toothpaste and as a major ingredient in some cough syrups.[medical citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Muchtaridi; Subarnas, Anas; Apriyantono, Anton; Mustarichie, Resmi (2010-11-23). "Identification of Compounds in the Essential Oil of Nutmeg Seeds (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) That Inhibit Locomotor Activity in Mice". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 11 (11): 4771–4781. doi:10.3390/ijms11114771. ISSN 1422-0067. PMC 3000115. PMID 21151471.
  2. ^ "Nutmeg: about, nutrition data, where found and 2675 recipes". RecipeLand.com. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  3. ^ Pateraki, Chrysanthi; Papadaki, Aikaterini; Koutinas, Apostolis; Kachrimanidou, Vasiliki (2019), "Biorefinery Engineering", Comprehensive Biotechnology, Elsevier, pp. 879–892, doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-64046-8.00107-5, ISBN 9780444640475, S2CID 239368680, retrieved 2022-04-26
  4. ^ Sharmeen, Jugreet B.; Mahomoodally, Fawzi M.; Zengin, Gokhan; Maggi, Filippo (February 2021). "Essential Oils as Natural Sources of Fragrance Compounds for Cosmetics and Cosmeceuticals". Molecules. 26 (3): 666. doi:10.3390/molecules26030666. PMC 7865210. PMID 33514008.
  5. ^ "Sabinene - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  6. ^ "Terpinen-4-Ol - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  7. ^ Bauer, K., D. Garbe (1985). Common Fragrance and Odor Materials. VCH Verlagsgesellschaft: Weinheim.
  8. ^ Machmudah, Siti; Sulaswatty, Anny; Sasaki, Mitsuru; Goto, Motonobu; Hirose, Tsutomu (2006-11-01). "Supercritical CO2 extraction of nutmeg oil: Experiments and modeling". The Journal of Supercritical Fluids. 39 (1): 30–39. doi:10.1016/j.supflu.2006.01.007. ISSN 0896-8446.
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