The spice of life: an analysis of nutmeg exposures in California

Abstract

Background: Nutmeg is widely used as a household spice. Numerous citations in the medical literature report its abuse as a psychoactive agent, primarily for its purported hallucinogenic effects that are thought to be due to the compound myristicin; these are primarily limited to case reports.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the California Poison Control System database for the years 1997-2008 for all cases of single-substance human exposure to nutmeg.

Results: There were a total of 119 single-substance exposures to nutmeg. Eighty-six (72.3%) exposures were intentional. Patients intentionally abusing nutmeg were more likely to be between the ages of 13 and 20 than those with unintentional exposure to the spice (80.2% vs. 9.1%, p < 0.05). Abusers were significantly more likely to require medical evaluation than nonabusers (61.6% vs. 33.3%, p < 0.05). Patients who abused nutmeg were significantly more likely (p < 0.05) to experience tachycardia and agitation than those whose exposure was unintentional. No major effects and no deaths were reported to occur in either group.

Conclusions: Although nutmeg exposure is uncommonly encountered, clinical effects from ingestion can be significant and can require medical intervention. While clinically significant effects were common, life-threatening toxicity and death did not occur in this series.