Elemicin is a phenylpropene

Phenylpropene

Phenylpropenes, propenylphenols or allylbenzenes are a class of phenylpropanoids, a type of polyphenols.The phenylpropenes, including eugenol, chavicol, safrole and estragole, are derived from the monolignols. These compounds are the primary constituents of various essential oils....

, a natural organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

, and is a constituent of the essential oil

Essential oil

An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...

 of nutmeg

Nutmeg

The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...

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Elemicin is also a minor constituent of the oleoresin and essential oil of Manila elemi (Canarium luzonicum). One study found it to comprise 2.4% of the fresh essential oil.
Raw nutmeg has caused anticholinergic

Anticholinergic

An anticholinergic agent is a substance that blocks the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the central and the peripheral nervous system. An example of an anticholinergic is dicycloverine, and the classic example is atropine....

-like effects in a patient, attributed to elemicin, as well as myristicin

Myristicin

Myristicin is a phenylpropene, a natural organic compound present in small amounts in the essential oil of nutmeg and to a lesser extent in other spices such as parsley and dill.It is insoluble in water, but soluble in ethanol and acetone.-Uses:...

. Elemicin is partially responsible for the psychoactive effects of nutmeg.