TABLE 4.
Pharmacological activities of Myristica fragrans essential oil and its active components
| Biological activities | MFEO/active constituent | In vitro/in vivo | Target/model | Control(s) | IC, LD50/dosage | Results/remarks | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cytotoxic activity | MFEO | In vitro | Vero cell line | – | IC50: 24.8 μg/ml | Low cytotoxicity observed against Vero cell line | Piaru et al. (2012b) |
| Anticancer activity | MFEO | In vitro | Human colon adenocarcinoma cell line (undifferentiated Caco‐2 cells) | Positive: Myristicin | IC50: 250 μg/ml | MFEO were found to have a considerable inhibitory effect on the growth of a colon cancer cell line | Piras et al. (2012) |
| Antiinflammatory activity | MFEO | In vitro | hTERT‐immortalized foreskin fibroblast cell line, BJ‐5ta treated with viral dsRNR mimetic poly I:C |
Negative: 96% ethanol |
LD50: 1 mg/ml | Nutmeg essential oils and hydrolats have shown significant antiinflammatory effect protecting cell viability | Matulyte et al. (2020) |
| Hepatoprotective activity | MFEO | In vivo | Male albino mice | – | 500, 1,000, mg/kg for 24 hr | MFEO‐treated mice showed substantial alteration in the biochemical indicators of liver function in a dose‐dependent manner | Al‐Jumaily & Al‐Amiry, 2012 |
| Antiinflammatory activity | MFEO | In vivo | Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)‐injected rats (30 mg/kg/day) | Positive: Diclofenac | 20 mg/kg/day | MFEO potentially alleviated the CFA injection‐induced joint swelling, mechanical allodynia of rats through inhibition of COX‐2 expression, and blood substance P level | Zhang et al. (2016) |
| Anticonvulsant activity | MFEO | In vivo | Male mice | Positive: Valproic acid | LD50:2150 μL/kg for 24 hr | Substantial anticonvulsant activity was observed | Wahab, Ul Haq, Ahmed, Khan, and Raza (2009) |
| Anticonvulsant activity | α‐Terpineol | In vivo | Genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) rats | Positive: Diazepam | 10, 20, 50 mg/kg, i.p. | Intraperitoneal dose 10 mg/kg was less effective to control seizures and spike and wave discharges (SWDs) in GAERS rats, but 20 mg/ kg and 50 mg/kg (i.p.) decreased the number of seizure episodes and number of SWDs | Islam et al. (2012) |
Note: Not reported; IC50, inhibitory concentration, LD50, lethal concentration; MFEO, Myristica fragrans essential oil.