Monodora myristica, which is popularly known as ehu seeds by the Ibos, is a tropical spice that originated from the West African continent such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Liberia, Cameroon, Angola and Tanzania before being introduced to the Caribbean and other places. Different countries have different names for the ehu seeds such as calabash nutmeg, awerewa, Jamaican nutmeg, ehiri, airama, African nutmeg, ehuru, lubushi, ariwo, Ghana seeds or orchid nutmeg. Ehu seeds are used for preparing special hot soups with piper Piper guineense ‘Uziza’, for newborn mothers for easy control of uterine hemorrhage.

It is also believed that adding these two spices in their soups helps the newborn mother’s milk to start flowing normally immediately after childbirth. Basically, the ehu seeds can be ground and used as a postpartum tonic.

Essential Oil Constituent

The leaves of the African nutmeg (ehu seeds) contain an essential oil that comprises of

-pinene,

-caryophyllene and

-humulene.

Moreover, the essential oil of the African nutmeg is made up of fundamental compounds such as pinene, ?-phellandrene, limonene, ?-pinene and myrcene.