Does fixed oil impart more antioxidant potential to spices than essential oils? A comparative study with seed (nutmeg) and aril (mace) oil from the spice myristica fragrans

To understand their importance, we performed a comparative study on fixed, total, and essential oils from the seed and aril
of Myristica fragrans. The total, essential, and fixed oils content of nutmeg (34.47%, 5.95%, and 26.43%, respectively)
and mace (22.55%, 8.79%, and 23.73%, respectively) showed varied oil content. The major fatty acid in mace fixed oil
(MFO) and mace total oil (MTO) was palmitic acid (33.30% and 33.11%. respectively), whereas, in nutmeg fixed oil
(NFO) and nutmeg total oil (NTO), it was myristic acid (62.52% and 58.20%, respectively). MTO exhibited the highest
total phenolic (~ 4596 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g) content. The phenolics and the flavonoids (mg/100 g), such as
catechin (25.40 ± 16.11) and quercetin (13.86 ± 2.34), were high in MFO. Rutin (20.61 ± 3.91) and gallic acid (10.69 ± 1.58)
were highest in MTO. Ferulic acid (8.26 ± 0.49) was highest in NTO, and synergic acid (24.72 ± 3.41) in NFO. The MFO
showed the highest antioxidant activity (53% radical scavenging activity by DPPH; 34 M Trolox equivalent/ 100 g of oil
by TEAC assay; 104 M Trolox equivalent/ 100 g of oil by FRAP assay), correlating with the polyphenols content. The
fixed oils showed higher overall antioxidant activity than essential oils.