Macelignan
Compiled from published pharmacological and botanical literature. Not independently verified by Herbuno. Spotted an error or have a correction? Flag it below →
| Chemical Class | Diarylheptanoid-type neolignan |
| Molecular Formula / CAS | C₁₈H₂₂O₃ · CAS 107534-93-0 |
| Primary Botanical Source(s) | Nutmeg / mace (Myristica fragrans) |
| Plant Part | Mace — the lace-like aril surrounding the nutmeg seed (also present at lower levels in the seed kernel itself) |
| Typical Content | One of the principal lipophilic lignans of mace, isolated as the active anticariogenic constituent of methanolic mace extract |
| Solubility / Format | Lipophilic — concentrates in oil-soluble and lipid-carrier extract formats rather than aqueous preparations |
| Sourcing Status | Product-live — genuine species and plant-part match via Herbuno’s mace-specific extract line |
| Buy from Herbuno | Mace Oil Soluble Extract · Mace Liquid Extract (Water Soluble) |
Name origin: Macelignan is named directly for its source tissue — mace, the bright red-orange aril that encases the nutmeg seed of Myristica fragrans — making it one of the few lignans whose name identifies not just its chemical class but the exact plant part it characterises. Traditional use: Mace has a long history in South and Southeast Asian cuisine and in Ayurvedic, Unani and Siddha medicine as a digestive, carminative and mild stimulant preparation, and separately as a folk antimicrobial and toothache remedy across several Indian Ocean trading cultures — a use that modern research has since traced in part to macelignan’s potent activity against oral pathogens. Research trajectory: Macelignan was isolated and structurally identified specifically because it accounted for the antibacterial activity researchers observed in crude mace extract against Streptococcus mutans, the principal cariogenic oral bacterium; subsequent research has expanded from that anticariogenic starting point into hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, anti-diabetic and anticancer investigations. Commercial source: Mace-derived extracts are an established Herbuno product line, and because macelignan is a defining lignan of mace tissue specifically (as distinct from the nutmeg seed kernel, where levels are lower), Herbuno’s mace-specific extracts represent a genuine botanical match rather than a generic Myristica substitution.
Evidence for Macelignan Applications
Macelignan was isolated by repeated silica gel chromatography from the methanol extract of Myristica fragrans mace after preliminary screening identified strong antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans, the primary bacterium responsible for dental caries formation. The isolated compound showed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of just 3.9 µg/mL against S. mutans — markedly lower than other natural anticariogenic reference agents tested in the same study, including sanguinarine (15.6 µg/mL), eucalyptol (250 µg/mL) and menthol or thymol (500 µg/mL each) (Chung et al. 2006). This remains one of the most-cited pieces of macelignan-specific pharmacology and grounds its anticariogenic reputation in a direct, isolated-compound comparison. Claim strength: Moderate.
Beyond anticariogenic activity, a comprehensive pharmacological review has catalogued macelignan as exhibiting antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective and neuroprotective activities across a body of largely cell-culture and rodent-model research, with the authors noting particular research momentum around its relevance to complex, multi-mechanism conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (Lee & Cho 2013). This breadth of reported activity reflects the current state of an actively growing research literature rather than a single well-replicated clinical finding, and most individual mechanisms remain supported by one or a small number of studies. Claim strength: Moderate.
In a rodent model of chronic neuroinflammation, oral macelignan administration reduced hippocampal microglial activation induced by sustained lipopolysaccharide (LPS) infusion into the fourth ventricle, and correspondingly reduced the spatial memory impairments that LPS infusion otherwise produced in a Morris water maze task, relative to untreated LPS-infused controls (Cui et al. 2008). Follow-up work from the same research group extended this to microglial cell culture, reporting that macelignan inhibited the release of the inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-alpha from LPS-activated microglia in a concentration-dependent manner, and separately supported neuronal survival via PI3K/Akt pathway modulation. Claim strength: Moderate.
Because mace and nutmeg oil also carry the psychoactive compound myristicin at higher concentrations in the seed kernel than in the aril, formulators should not conflate mace-extract sourcing intent with nutmeg-seed sourcing intent even though both derive from the same tree: the aril (mace) is the tissue characterised by macelignan content and anticariogenic research, while the seed kernel (nutmeg) carries a different secondary profile weighted more toward myristicin and related phenylpropanoids. Specification documents should state “mace” rather than the ambiguous umbrella term “nutmeg extract” when macelignan content is the sourcing intent. Claim strength: Moderate.
Dosage & Formulator Specification
No macelignan-standardised extract with a validated human dosing range currently exists in commercial or clinical literature; published research has used isolated macelignan at cell-culture concentrations (low single-digit µg/mL to µM range) and rodent oral doses in the tens of mg/kg range, neither of which translates directly to a human supplemental dose without dedicated pharmacokinetic work.
Analytical characterisation of mace extract for macelignan content is performed by HPLC or LC-MS against a macelignan reference standard; because mace also contains myristicin, elemicin, safrole and related phenylpropanoids at varying concentrations, a full-panel analysis rather than a single macelignan assay gives formulators the clearest picture of a given lot’s composition, particularly for products intended for oral-care applications where macelignan is the primary functional interest.
Given macelignan’s lipophilic character, oil-soluble and lipid-carrier extract formats preserve and deliver it more efficiently than aqueous extraction, which is reflected in Herbuno’s product structure. Formulators working in oral-care matrices (mouth rinses, toothpaste actives, lozenges) should note that macelignan’s anticariogenic research used direct isolated-compound exposure to S. mutans, so translating research-scale MIC data to a finished-product inclusion rate requires accounting for the mace extract’s overall macelignan concentration.
Regulatory positioning follows established mace and nutmeg food-ingredient precedent in most markets, since mace itself is a long-used culinary spice with GRAS-type status in food applications; no macelignan-specific regulatory limit exists. Formulators should be aware that nutmeg and mace both contain trace myristicin, which carries dose-dependent psychoactive and hepatotoxic concerns at high intake levels well above typical culinary or extract-based use, and should size any oral-care or ingestible formulation accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions — Macelignan
Nutmeg and mace both come from the same tree, Myristica fragrans, but nutmeg refers to the seed kernel while mace is the lace-like aril that surrounds it. Macelignan is characteristic of the mace tissue specifically, so a specification calling for “nutmeg extract” without specifying mace may not deliver the intended macelignan content.
Its most well-documented activity is anticariogenic: isolated macelignan showed a very low minimum inhibitory concentration against Streptococcus mutans, the principal bacterium responsible for dental caries, in a directly comparative laboratory study against other natural antibacterial reference compounds.
No. Myristicin is a different phenylpropanoid compound found at higher concentration in nutmeg seed than in mace, and is associated with the psychoactive and hepatotoxic effects reported at high nutmeg intake. Macelignan is a structurally distinct diarylheptanoid neolignan characteristic of the mace aril, with a separate pharmacological profile centred on anticariogenic, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective research.
Because macelignan is lipophilic, the Mace Oil Soluble Extract is the more concentration-efficient choice for macelignan delivery in oil-phase or lipid-carrier formulations. The Mace Liquid Extract (Water Soluble) remains available for formulations requiring an aqueous format, though it will carry proportionally less of the lipophilic macelignan fraction.
Related compounds: Honokiol, Sesamin