Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans): Uses, Evidence and Safety

If someone has swallowed a large amount of nutmeg or mace, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). Call 911 if the person is hard to wake, has a seizure, or has trouble breathing. Do not wait for symptoms, and do not try to treat it at home. In other countries see Poison Help by country. For first steps, see Poisoning: what to do first.

Overview

Nutmeg is a common baking and cooking spice. Used in food, it is on the US Food and Drug Administration's list of spices and seasonings that are generally recognized as safe for their intended use. [1] That food-use status says nothing about swallowing large amounts or about supplements. This page is about the gap between a pinch in a recipe and a spoonful swallowed on purpose or by accident. Poison-center reports and case reports describe real harm from large amounts. [2][3]

Names and plant parts

The plant is Myristica fragrans Houtt., an accepted species in the family Myristicaceae. [4] Nutmeg is the seed; mace, the other spice from the same plant, is listed under the same botanical name by the FDA. [1] Poison-center papers treat nutmeg and mace together, because both contain the same kinds of aroma compounds (myristicin, elemicin and safrole). [5]

Traditional use (not proof of benefit)

A 2026 review describes nutmeg as an ethnomedicinal resource in traditional Asian medical systems, with use in China dating to about the 3rd and 4th centuries CE. Classical Chinese texts describe it as "warming the middle jiao" and astringing the intestines to relieve diarrhea. [6] This is the tradition's own description. It is not evidence that nutmeg works for diarrhea or anything else.

What research shows

For taking nutmeg as a remedy by mouth, we found no human trial we could read that supports a health benefit. Proper evidence not found: we searched Europe PMC for randomized and clinical trials with "nutmeg" or "Myristica fragrans" in the title and found four trial records. The only one we could read in full detail was the topical trial above; we did not read the others and do not cite them.

What poison-center reports describe

• Who is affected. In Illinois over ten years (2001 to 2011), 32 nutmeg ingestions were reported to the poison center. More than half of the accidental ones involved children under 13. [3]
• Teens and mixtures. The same series found nutmeg combined with other drugs in some intentional cases among 15 to 20 year olds, and one person who took several substances needed breathing support. [3]
• How bad it usually gets. In Texas, none of 17 calls over six years led to more than moderate effects or death. [7] A Swiss analysis of enquiries about 236 patients led its authors to say intoxications usually show a mild course. [2]
• Not always mild. Case reports describe hyperactive delirium with severe agitation that led to a breathing tube and intensive care, [11] and a six-year-old who swallowed six pieces of mace, developed an altered level of consciousness and breathing changes, and recovered with supportive care in hospital. [5] A seizure case after intentional ingestion has also been reported (title read; abstract not available). [12]
• Social media. Swiss poison-center calls rose in 2020 and 2021, which the authors link to a social media "nutmeg challenge" and to more home baking. [2]

The sources we read do not state a single "safe" or "toxic" amount, and we do not give one. If you are unsure whether an amount is a problem, call Poison Help.

Safety

• Medicines. One case report on a man taking fluoxetine and quetiapine described a mild course. [2] The mace case report notes that myristicin moderately inhibits monoamine oxidase, an enzyme that medicines for mood also act on. [5] The sources we read do not show whether this matters at cooking amounts. Ask a pharmacist, and see how interactions work.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. Amounts above food use are not described in the sources we read. See pregnancy and breastfeeding and ask your midwife or doctor.
• Children. Young children are a large share of accidental exposures. [3] Keep whole nutmeg and ground spice out of reach.
• Liver and kidney. Only animal findings at very high amounts were found. [10] People with liver or kidney disease should ask their clinician before using nutmeg as a remedy.
• Eyes. Four accidental exposures in children in the Illinois series were to the eye. [3]
• Supplements. For quality and label concerns, see product quality and contamination.

Culinary amounts versus remedy amounts

Cooking use is small and mixed into food. Taking nutmeg by the spoonful, in capsules or as a "remedy" is a different situation, and the case reports above come from that second situation. See culinary versus supplement amounts, spices as foods and toxic plants and poisoning.