Peppers, Nutmeg, and Cloves: Part 2

So apparently, pepper wasn't the only spice important near the beginning of great civilizations… nutmeg and cloves were of high value but very rare. The nutmeg tree is only grown on the Banda Islands and the clove tree is only located on the Ternate and Tidore Islands. Large civilizations wanted to get there hands on these spices bad, so explorers where sent out to find out how to get there. By 1512, the governor of Portuguese India established a market with these spices. Soon, he far surpassed the wealth of any country at that time. Even though  Cloves and Nutmeg are separated by hundreds of miles of open sea, there differences are caused by some very similar molecules. Cloves contain Eugenol, and Nutmeg contains Isoeugenol. The only difference in the molecules is the positioning of a double bond! These chemicals and the double bond placement gives these chemicals distinct properties. Since plants cannot run away, they protect themselves with chemicals… such as Eugenol, Isoeugenol, and think back to Piperine, and Capsaicin. These chemicals protect the plants by harming creatures that digest them. Sometimes we use them to help us in, 200 B.C. the Han Dynasty had used Cloves to help relieve toothache and be used as sweetness for the Court Couriers. Now hold on to your seats… when the Black Death, Bubonic Plague, occurred in Europe in 1347. This plague took many lives and left many people deathly ill, but some people were unaffected. People wore Nutmeg around there necks and they were less likely to get the plague! This is believed today, because of the Isoeugenol in the fresh Nutmeg. The chemical is said to have warded off the fleas that caused the plague and kept those particular people safe. Now there is a downside to this as well, Nutmeg also has Myristicin and Elmicin, two chemicals that cause hallucinations, lived problems and even death. Fortunately for us it is very hard to consume too much to cause these problems. These chemicals are also found in carrots, celery, dill, and other food but in very small trace amounts. Who knew that the foods we consume regularly and use as spices could be so beneficial yet so deadly.…