Nutmeg oil has medicinal properties such as sedative, stimulant, relaxing, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, bactericide, etc. Its health benefits include its ability to treat stress, pain, menstrual cramps, and heart disorders, indigestion, blood pressure, cough and bad breath. Other traditional uses of nutmeg include, but are not limited to, diarrhea, mouth sores, and insomnia. Evidence from human study suggests that nutmeg extract, when used as part of chewing gum, may decrease plaque and gingivitis. The Banda Islands in Indonesia, once the world?s only source of nutmeg, were a closely guarded secret of Arab merchants, who traded the spices to the Europeans at high prices.

Historically, it has been used in Indonesian and other folk medicine traditions, such as the Unani system of medicine, which originated in Greece. In the Unani tradition, spices, including nutmeg, are considered to be sexual invigorators.

Nutmeg and mace are used for diarrhea, nausea, stomach spasms and pain, and intestinal gas. They are also used for treating cancer, kidney disease, and trouble sleeping (insomnia); increasing menstrual flow; causing a miscarriage; as a hallucinogen; and as a general tonic.