Pimenta racemosa

Scientific name: Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) J.W. Moore

Botanical family: MYRTACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

Dominican Republic:

bay run, berrón

Dominica:

bay-run
bwaden

Other vernacular names

Haiti:

bay rum/fey esa
bwa dind
fey esans jirof

Guadeloupe:

bois d'inde

Geographical distribution

Native to northern South America and the Antilles, cultivated in the tropics.

Botanical description

Tree of up to 15 m in height with grey to light brown bark that breaks off into thin sheets. Leaves elliptic, oblong or obovate,
obtuse at the base and emarginate at the apex, glabrous with finely reticulate venation, glandular-punctate. Corymbose, terminal or subterminal panicles; white or pink, glandular flowers with numerous stamens; calyx with 5 lobes, broadly triangular. Ovoid fruit of up to 1 cm, black when ripe.

Voucher(s)

Jiménez,60,JBSD

toothache

leaf crushed, applied locally, jointly with Allium sativum and Syzygium aromaticum¹

rheumatism

leaf, crushed, local massage²

The leaves of Pimenta racemosa are an industrial source of essential oil.

For toothache:
wash the leaves adequately, crush with an unopened and dried flower bud of Syzygium aromaticum (clove) and a clove of Allium sativum (garlic); apply 5-10 grams of the prepared plant material to the affected clove 2-3 times a day¹⁶.

For rheumatism:
wash the leaves adequately, crush them, take 30 grams of plant material and rub it on the skin of the affected area for 2-5 minutes twice a day¹⁶.

Preparations must never be stored for more than 24 hours, even if refrigerated.

According to the information available:

The use for toothache and rheumatism is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys and the scientific information published.

All topical application must follow strict hygiene measures in order to prevent contamination or additional infection.

The use of this resource for toothache must be considered complementary to odontological treatment.

The leaves can produce hypersensitivity reactions.

The leaves should not be swallowed; not for use during pregnancy, breastfeeding or in children under 5 years of age.

TRAMIL Work¹³
The aqueous extract (10 minutes decoction, chemically neutralised to pH 7) of dried and ground leaves was administered intraperitoneally in mice, observation for 10 days; the LD₅₀ was 2.08 ± 0.27 g/kg. Orally (6.25, 12.5 and 18.75 g of dried plant material/kg) in mice, administration for 30 days did not cause any toxicity.

TRAMIL Work³
The essential oil of the whole plant, orally, non-lethal dose in mice, showed that it caused lesions in the digestive tract. At
higher doses, pathological anatomy showed open ulcers, necrosis of the stomach and intestinal haemorrhaging. The LD₅₀ of the essential oil of the whole plant orally in mice was 443 mg/kg.

The aqueous leaf extract in vitro did not have any mutagenic effects¹².

The LD₅₀ of eugenol, orally in rats, was 2.68 g/kg, and in mice it was 3 g/kg14.

The eugenol contained in the essential oil is irritant and capable of inducing hypersensitivity reactions¹⁵.

There is no information available documenting the safety of medicinal use in children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The leaf contains essential oils: eugenol, isoeugenol-trans-methylether, 1,8 cineol, thymol, limonene, γ-terpinene, ρ-cimen-8-ol, myrcene, trans-sabinene, α-terpinene, chavicol³.

The essential oil of the leaves contains 3-dimethoxyallylbenzene and constitutes 1-3% of the weight of the fresh plant⁴, 4-methoxy isoeugenol (75.2%), 4-methoxy-eugenol (4.5%)⁵ , terpinen-4-ol, 1,8-cineole, eugenol, chavicol, α-terpineol⁶.

It is considered that there are 3 varieties that are very close from a chemotaxonomic point of view, the most common being the grisea variety, and the two remaining varieties differ by the smell of the leaves and consequently by the nature of the essential
oils they contain. The essential oil of the leaf contains 3-dimethoxyallylbenzene and constitutes 1-3% of the weight of the fresh vegetable.

For the grisea variety, the chemical constituents can be grouped into three groups:
- monoterpene hydrocarbons: myrcene (majority), alloocimene, limonene, α-phellandrene, dipentene (minority);
- monoterpene aldehydes: citral, citronellal and geranial and
- phenolic ethers: eugenol (majority), methyl eugenol, chavicol, 3,4-dimethoxyallylbenzene, methyl chavicol (minority).

This composition remains relatively constant in relation to the place or period of harvest.

The citrus-smelling variety is very rich in this component and does not contain much eugenol. The aniseed-smelling variety also does not contain appreciable amounts of eugenol and is characterised by its content of chavicol and methyl eugenol derivatives^4,7.

Steam distillation of the branch yields a maximum of 3.9% of essential oil, the main components of which are eugenol (approximately 56%), chavicol (22%) and myrcene (21%), while aniseed varieties contain approximately 43% methyl eugenol and 32% methyl chavicol and varieties with a predominantly lemony smell are characterised by a predominantly citral content, which may exceed 80% of the total essential oil content⁷.

Eugenol is attributed with antiseptic, local anaesthetic, dental analgesic^8-9 properties; spasmolytic, parasympatholytic, and peripheral vasodilator¹⁰.

3,4-dimethoxyallylbenzene has been described to have sedative and narcotic activity in experimental models used in mice and fish; protecting against strychnine induced seizures^11-12.

No information is available in the scientific literature to validate the effects attributed to the crushed leaves in local application or local massage for toothache or rheumatism.

Pharmacopoeia

Ed.3

References

1 GERMOSEN-ROBINEAU L, GERONIMO M, AMPARO C, 1984
Encuesta TRAMIL. enda-caribe, Santo Domingo, Rep. Dominicana.

2 CHARLES C, 1988
TRAMIL survey. Movement for Cultural Awareness MCA, Roseau, Dominica.

3 BOURGEOIS P, 1986
Rapport concernant Pimenta racemosa (Myrtacées). Rapport TRAMIL. Laboratoire de phytochimie, Faculté des Sciences, UAG, Guadeloupe.

4 FURIA T, BELLANCA N, 1971
Fenaroli’s handbook of flavour ingredients. Cleveland, USA: The Chemical Rubber Co.

5 GARCIA D, ALVAREZ A, TORNOS P, FERNANDEZ A, SÁENZ T, 2002
Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry study of the essential oils of Pimenta racemosa var. terebinthina and P.racemosa var grisea. Z Naturforsch C 57(5-6):449-451.

6 LEYVA M, TARACONTE J, MARQUETTI MdC, 2007
Composición química y efecto letal del aceite esencial de Pimenta racemosa (Myrtales: Myrtaceae) sobre Blattella
germanica (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae). Rev Cubana Med Trop 59(2):154-158.

7 LEUNG AY, FOSTER S, 1980
Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs and cosmetics. New York, USA: Wiley Interscience.

8 NEGWER M, 1987
Organic chemical drugs and their synonyms (an international survey), 6th ed. Berlin, Germany: Akademie Verlag.

9 DUKE JA, 1992
Handbook of biologically active phytochemicals and their bioactivities. Boca Raton, USA: CRC Press.

10 DE SOUSA M, MATOS ME, MATOS FJ, MACHADO MI, CRAVEIRO AA, 1991
Constituintes químicos ativos de plantas medicinais Brasileiras. Fortaleza, Brasil: Ceará Edições UFC Laboratorio de produtos naturais.

11 MAC GREGOR JT, LAYTON LL, BUTTERY RG, 1974
California bay oil. II. Biological effects of constituents. J Agric Food Chem 22(5):777-780.

12 UNGSURUNGSIE M, SUTHIENKUL O, PAOVALO C, 1982
Mutagenicity screening of popular Thai spices. Food Chem Toxicol 20(5):527-530.

13 HERRERA J, 1988
Determinación de actividades biológicas de vegetales utilizados en medicina tradicional. Informe TRAMIL. Dep. de Farmacología, Facultad de Salud, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.

14 BUDAVARI S (Ed.), 2001
The Merck Index: an encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs, and biologicals. 30th ed. Whitehouse Station, USA: Merck & Co., Inc. p690.

15 REYNOLDS J (Ed.), 1996
Martindale: The extra pharmacopoeia. 31st ed. London, England: The Royal Pharmaceutical Society. p1705.

16 CARBALLO A, 1995
Cálculo de concentración y dosis de las drogas vegetales TRAMIL: Mensuraciones farmacognósticas y aproximaciones técnico-clínicas. Laboratorio provincial de producción de medicamentos, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.

Disclaimer

The information provided is for educational purposes only for the benefit of the general public and health professionals. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. Since some parts of plants could be toxic, might induce side effects, or might have interactions with certain drugs, anyone intending to use them or their products must first consult with a physician or another qualified health care professional. TRAMIL has no responsibility whatsoever towards the user for any decision, action or omission made in relation to the information contained in this Pharmacopoeia.

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