Pimento oil is an excellent conditioner for hair and a salve for the skin. It’s also known as allspice, Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, new spice, pimenta, and clove pepper. Pimento Hair Growth Oil strengthens, thickens, and grows your hair. It increases blood flow to the scalp, supplies valuable nutrients to hair roots, stimulates hair follicles, strengthens the hair shaft, and helps to remove toxins and parasites that could retard hair growth.  A potent combination of organic Jamaican pimento oil and Jbco, this formula will thicken and lengthen your hair. It increases blood flow to the surface of the skin taking with it more oxygen to repair, replenish and rejuvenate hair follicle cells. Helps in stronger hair roots and faster-growing hair. This oil also does wonders for the skin and is an effective rub to ease arthritic and muscle pain.

Pimento botanically known as Pimenta Officinalis or Pimenta Diocia is an evergreen tree that is inherent to South America and Caribbean Islands. It is also commonly called allspice due to the scent it possesses is the combination of cinnamon, clove, pepper, cardamom, and other spices. Pimento essential oil is extracted from the leaves and fruits of the Pimento plant with the use of steam distillation process which results in yellow to brown liquid with a fresh, spicy, and warm smell. This essential oil possesses main constituents such as caryophyllene, cineol, methyl eugenol, eugenol, and phellandrene. The warming effect of essential oil helps to relieve depression, stress problems, exhaustion, and nervous tension. It is an anesthetic, warming, and analgesic.

History

It is native to the Caribbean Islands, Central America, and Jamaica. Firstly the seeds of pimento were introduced by Christopher Columbus to Europe. It was used in Mexico as an aid for stomach problems, menstrual cramps, and cold. It tones the stomach and treats digestive problems.

Health Benefits of Pimento essential oil

Pimento essential oil possesses antioxidant, analgesic, anesthetic, antiseptic, antioxidant, carminative, rubefacient, relaxant, tonic, and stimulant properties. The health benefits of Pimento essential oil are discussed below:

Relieve pain

Pimento essential oil has anesthetic properties that help to lower pain caused due to muscular or bone injuries, neuralgia, stings, or insect bites. The analgesic property of the essential oil of pimento also comes from its anesthetic property. It may have a numbing effect on the nerves which does not let the sensation of pain reach the brain or be felt by our nerves. This may help to overcome pain resulting from wounds, headaches, colds, arthritis, and gout, among others. Moreover, it doesn’t make your nerves and brain dull in the long run, nor does it have any adverse effect on the heart, unlike most analgesics that are available on the market.

Numbing effect

Pimento essential oil provides a numbing effect on nerves that helps to overcome the pain caused by headaches, wounds, arthritis, colds, and gout.

Eliminate free radicals

The antioxidant property found in Pimento essential oil helps to prevent the damage caused due to free radicals and oxidation. It could neutralize oxidants or free radicals and repair the existing damage.

May Act as an Anesthetic

This oil can be applied to any areas where you are experiencing pain, as it has a local numbing or anesthetic effect. This anesthetic effect can suppress certain types of pain, including those of neuralgia, bone and muscular injuries, and joints, as well as those resulting from insect bites or stings.

Might Detoxify Body

This property is in great demand these days as it is being viewed as the key to retaining your youth and guaranteeing a longer, healthier life. Mankind has always been in search of something like this. But what is so vitally important about these antioxidants? What are they and how are they useful? Antioxidants are agents that protect the body from the damage done by oxidation and free radicals. But how can oxygen and its subsequent oxidation, which may make life and energy production possible, be the cause of so much damage? You will be surprised to know that oxygen was once responsible for the mass destruction of all life forms on earth in the very beginning. It simply oxidized them to death. 100% pure oxygen (and even in lesser quantities) can still oxidize the lungs, respiratory tracts, and all the tissues in our body to death as if they have been burnt.

Oxidation is believed to be one of the prime causes behind aging and age-related damage to the body such as the weakening of muscles, hair loss, loss of vision and hearing, nervous disorders, macular and muscular degeneration, and certain types of cancer. Now, there are substances in our body, which are called free radicals, that carry active oxygen and speed up this oxidation of cells, and promote aging. Antioxidants can actually stop aging by neutralizing these free radicals or oxidants and also repairing the damage already done by them.

Research published in the Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine found that pimento essential oil had strong antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Its effectiveness remained constant across different tests by the researchers. ^[rx]

May Prevent Bacterial Infections

Septic and tetanus are infections of wounds and internal organs like the urethra, gallbladder, urinary tract, and kidneys that are caused by bacteria like Staphylococcus Aureus and Clostridium Tetani, respectively. Newborn babies that are less than one month old are most vulnerable to septic and tetanus.

Infection of septic and tetanus can spread very quickly and can take over the whole body, resulting in severe convulsions, muscular cramps, breathlessness, pain, hydrophobia, and even insanity. The antiseptic property of pimento essential oil gives protection against such infections by inhibiting bacterial growth.

A review posted in the Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that pimento essential oil possessed strong antibacterial properties which were related to the presence of compounds like carvacrol, cinnamic aldehyde, eugenol, thymol, and p-cymene. ^[rx]

May Relieve Flatulence

Intestinal gases are only funny in movies. This condition can be very painful, disturbing, embarrassing, and even fatal in the most extreme cases. Gas can cause indigestion, unrest, stomach aches, heaviness, continuous hiccups, rheumatism, cramps, chest pain, high blood pressure, heart problems, and even death if it presses against any vulnerable organs or remains trapped in a critical position. The essential oil of pimento can give you relief from gases by easing their way out and stopping them from developing again. A review published by International Current Pharmaceutical Journal explains how pimento was traditionally used to treat flatulence and digestive troubles ^[rx]

May Reduce Stress

The essential oil of pimento has a relaxing effect on the muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and brain. This way, it provides relief from stress, anxiety, anger, nervous afflictions, convulsions, hypertension, mental unrest, depression, and insomnia.

May Act as a Rubefacient

The rubefacient property of pimento essential oil increases the circulation of blood below the skin and brings a touch of redness to the skin, which is typically more visible in the face, hence the name rubefacient. In heavier or more concentrated doses, this property can cause skin irritation.

Might Stimulate Blood Circulation

It stimulates blood circulation, the secretion of hormones and enzymes, digestion, and other functions in the body, thereby helping to maintain proper metabolism. This also stimulates the growth of cells and the generation of new cells. Pimento essential oil has rubefacient properties that raise blood circulation in the skin. It should be used in adequate amounts because excessive use could result in skin irritation.

May Act as a Tonic

Being a tonic, pimento essential oil tones up the liver, spleen, stomach, and nervous system, as well as the endocrine system and the metabolism. It also tones up the immune system of the body. Thus, it helps in growth and gives protection to the body from a number of conditions.

Prevent tetanus

The infection on wounds, gall bladder, urethra, kidneys, and urinary tracts are tetanus and septic. The infants have high chances of getting tetanus and septic that could spread rapidly in the body. It results in muscular cramps, convulsions, pain, breathlessness, hydrophobia, and insanity. It also inhibits bacterial growth.

Treat indigestion

Intestinal gases are disturbing, painful, and embarrassing and also could be fatal. It could cause unrest, indigestion, stomach aches, rheumatism, continuous hiccups, heaviness, chest pain, cramps, death, heart problems, and high blood pressure.

Relieve anxiety

Pimento essential oil relaxes nerves, muscles, brain, and blood vessels. It provides relief from anxiety, stress, nervous afflictions, anger, hypertension, convulsions, mental unrest, insomnia, and depression.

Metabolism

It promotes the circulation of blood, secretion of enzymes, hormones, digestion, and bodily functions. It also maintains proper metabolism. It promotes the growth and generation of cells.

Tones immune system

Pimento essential oil tones the spleen, liver, nervous system, stomach, metabolism, and endocrine system. It assists the growth and protects the body from various conditions.

Positive effects on degenerative and cancerous diseases

A 2011 research on ‘Composition and antioxidant activity of essential oil of Pimento from Jamaica’ tested the “antioxidant properties of this essential oil in terms of its free-radical scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical cation and superoxide anion”.

This study witnessed that Pimento berry essential oil possesses very high radical-fighting activities compared to that of pure eugenol and also recommended its use as a natural antioxidant along with good flavor and enormous health benefits, including cancerous and degenerative diseases due to the effect of free radicals.

Calms the mind and body

The comforting, warming, encouraging, uplifting, and fostering aroma of Pimento Berry essential oil renders a sense of personal touch, self-confidence, and freshness on the mind and body.  As a proven tonic for the central nervous system, this oil supports in treating neuralgia, nervous exhaustion, convulsions, hysterical paroxysms, depression, fatigue, and stressful conditions.

Enriching your potpourri, diffuser, burner, vaporizer, or bathing water with 3 drops of Allspice essential oil can grant you ultimate solace after a long tiring day and can also kick-start your confidence for promising dawn. It is for this strong purpose, Pimento berry essential oil has been a part of men’s perfume ranges.

 Traditional uses

• Certain active principles in allspice have been found to have anti-inflammatory, rubefacient (warmth and soothing), carminative, and anti-flatulent properties.
• Pimento contains health-benefiting essential oils such as eugenol, a phenylpropanoids class of chemical compound, which gives pleasant, sweet aromatic fragrances to this spice.
• It also contains caryophyllene, methyl eugenol, glycosides, tannins, quercetin, resin, and sesquiterpenes. At the processing units, these volatile essential oils are obtained through the distillation process using this spice corn. The outer coat of the allspice berries is believed to have the greatest concentration of some of these medicinally important compounds.
• As in black peppercorns, the active principles in the allspice may increase the motility of the gastrointestinal tract. They also aid in digestion by facilitating enzyme secretions inside the stomach and intestines.
• Eugenol has local anesthetic and antiseptic properties. It was found useful in gum and dental treatment procedures. Recent research studies have revealed that a kind of traditional preparation made from a mixture of allspice oil, garlic extraction, and oregano can combat E.coli, Salmonella, and L.monocytogenes infections.
• The spice composes a good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, iron, copper, selenium, and magnesium. Iron is an essential co-factor for cytochrome oxidase enzymes during cellular metabolism.
• Iron is also required for red blood cell production in the bone marrow. Potassium, being an important component of cell and body fluids, helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is utilized in the human body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.
• Further, this spice also carries a great amount of vitamin-A, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin C.
• Vitamin C is a powerful natural antioxidant; regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the human body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.
• It is used to treat chest problems, rheumatism, depression, bronchitis, and stress.
• It is an aid for nervous tension, nausea, stomach cramps, flatulence, digestion, and exhaustion.
• It provides relief from muscle and joint aches.
• It is used for respiratory problems as well.
• It is useful for lack of energy and nervous exhaustion.

Health Benefits of Allspice?

1. Is Anti-inflammatory

The topical use of allspice (either as its essential oil, poultice or in a hot bath) relieves pain caused by a number of conditions like muscle aches, joint pains, sprains, gout, arthritis, and hemorrhoids. This is because it has active components that help reduce inflammation and pain (1).

2. Aids Digestion

The eugenol in allspice works wonders for digestion as it stimulates the digestive enzymes (2). This helps in reducing a number of stomach ailments like diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, excessive flatulence, and bloating. It also helps regulate the overall digestive process with ease.

3. Boosts Immunity

Allspice helps boost immunity with the help of its antibacterial activity that is pretty effective against a number of stomach bacteria like E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica (3). It has also been found to improve immune activity in fish (4). Additionally, adding allspice to certain foods can preemptively neutralize certain bacteria before they even enter your body and wreak havoc.

4. Has Antioxidant Capacity

Allspice contains a range of components like vitamin A, vitamin C, eugenol, quercetin, and tannins that make it a powerful antioxidant (5). These antioxidants help get rid of free radicals from your body that are a leading cause of a number of diseases (like cancer) and age-related problems.

5. Enhances Dental Health

Allspice has been traditionally used in dental procedures as it contains eugenol that works as a great local anesthetic (6). Its antimicrobial property has also been associated with good gum and dental health (7). So, unpleasant as it may seem, you should probably consider adding gargling with allspice to your daily dental routine.

6. Improves Circulation

Massaging an area with allspice essential oil creates a warming effect and increases the blood flow and circulation in that area (8). This, in turn, can help relieve swelling, aches, and pains.

7. Protects Heart Health

The extract of allspice has been found to create a hypotensive effect and reduce elevated blood pressure in rats (9). The potassium found in allspice also acts as a vasodilator and increases blood flow throughout the body. This, consequently, reduces the strain on your heart, promotes better cardiovascular health, and reduces the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

8. Strong Bones

If strong bones are what you seek, you will get them with the help of allspice. The manganese found in allspice is responsible for reducing spinal bone weakening in postmenopausal women and has also been found to improve bone mineral density in rats (10), (11).

9. Acts As A Stimulant And Makes You Energetic

What makes allspice an excellent stimulant is its iron content. Ironworks to distribute and transfer oxygen to all the parts of the body and your brain to boost your energy levels. In fact, a study has found that iron improved women’s exercise performance and helped them exercise with a lower heart rate and more efficiently, i.e., without getting tired easily (12).

10. Good For Metabolism

When it comes to maintaining metabolism, allspice is an absolute powerhouse because of the many minerals it contains. Iron, for instance, plays a major role in the generation of new cells and red blood cell production in the bone marrow. While manganese helps in the synthesis of a major antioxidant enzyme, potassium works to regulate heart rate, blood pressure, and the synthesis of a number of body fluids.

11. Prevents Cancer

Information is a little confusing and contradictory when it comes to allspice and its ability to prevent cancer. Research studies have shown that it can kill breast cancer cells in mice and inhibit prostate cancer cell growth (13), (14), (15). However, it also contains eugenol that can promote the growth of cancer cells in people who already have cancer or trigger the disease in people who are at a high risk of being afflicted by it.

12. Improves Brain Functioning

Allspice is chock-full of vitamins A and B9 (folate) that improve and protect your brain functioning as you age. It also contains riboflavin that helps reduce fatigue and magnesium that prevents cognitive decline and memory loss (16).

13. Slows Down Aging

The copper contained in allspice serves a dual purpose when it comes to preventing the signs of aging – it works as an antioxidant to scavenge free radicals and also as an important coenzyme in the production of collagen. With these powers combined, it manages to tighten your skin and prevents the appearance of the physical signs of aging like age spots, wrinkles, and macro-degeneration (17).

14. Good For Diabetics

Drinking allspice tea could be beneficial for diabetics as this spice has an extremely low glycemic index. This means that it causes a slower rise in blood sugar and, consequently, insulin levels. Moreover, allspice has also been found to improve glucose and insulin metabolism in rats (18).

15. Helps Maintain Healthy Blood Cell Count

Allspice helps maintain a healthy blood cell count for the simple reason that it contains iron and copper – two minerals that are essential for the formation of new blood cells (19). A deficiency of these two minerals can cause anemia, fatigue, and muscular weakness.

16. Relieves Menstrual Cramps

We already know that the anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of allspice work wonder in relieving pain. So, it comes as no surprise that Jamaicans have been drinking allspice tea to relieve menstrual cramps for ages now (20).

17. Masks Unpleasant Odors

When it comes to aroma, allspice has a powerful scent that has notes of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger, which make it great for masking unpleasant odors. This is the reason its essential oil is used as a fragrance in deodorants, cosmetics, aftershaves, and medicines.

18. Fights Bacterial And Fungal Infections

Here’s the thing about allspice that makes it extra special – it makes sure that your food is rid of all sorts of icky microbes even before you put it in your mouth. Yep, allspice has been found to kill bacteria and inhibit fungal growth in food (21), (22). This means cooking or preserving food with this spice could prevent you from falling sick from a number of infections.

19. Treats Depression

It is a widely known fact that inhaling essential oils and undergoing aromatherapy can help treat some mental health problems. The essential oil of allspice is no exception to this rule. Inhaling allspice essential oil can help reduce depression, nervous exhaustion, tension, and stress (23).

20. Treats Menopause Symptoms

Traditionally, allspice has been used as a home remedy for treating the symptoms of menopause. It has also been used as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy in herbal medicine. However, there is no scientific research that conclusively proves the same.

Yes, there’s no doubt that those are some pretty spectacular benefits that allspice offers. But the question remains, how can one make maximum use of this spice besides putting it in their food? Well, there are a number of ways you can use it to treat various problems. Just keep reading.

Allspice Uses

If you think allspice is good to be used just as, well, a spice, you are wrong. This miracle spice also can also be used medicinally to treat a variety of conditions as is evident by all the benefits we discussed above. Here are the ways you can use it:

• Traditionally, allspice has been by dentists on teeth and gums as it contains eugenol that has some anesthetic and antiseptic properties.
• Allspice also contains tannins that dilate the blood vessels and make the surrounding area feel warmer. Thus, it is used as a poultice or poured in a hot bath to provide relief to sore muscles and joint pains caused by arthritis.
• The essential oil of allspice is used to provide relief from a number of conditions like headaches, colds, insect bites, sprains, and sinusitis.
• Inhaling this essential oil has also been known to produce a relaxing effect and help insomniacs fall asleep.
• A herbal tea decoction made using allspice has long been used to treat a wide variety of ailments like stomach ache, flatulence, menstrual cramps, and diabetes.
• Allspice has been used as a marinade for the famous Jamaican Jerk Chicken for ages now and to add a kick of flavor to the traditional pumpkin pie.
• It is also used as a mulling spice to prepare a number of drinks and as a pickling agent.

All of this is well and good, but it can be a real bummer if you were not able to find allspice in your area. If that’s the case, below is a simple substitute you can prepare at home. It obviously won’t offer you the benefits that allspice does but can at least make your food taste delicious.

How To Make Allspice

If you can’t find allspice in your area (I’m so sorry) but still want to try out all the yummy recipes it is used in, you can whip up a substitute for it in no time. It’s simple, really. All you need to do is mix half a teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. That’s it! You now have your very own homemade version of allspice.

Now, there’s always a difference of opinion when it comes to using any spice while cooking. While some people prefer using ground spices, others would rather just chuck them in whole. Here’s what you need to know about allspice when it comes to this debate.

How To Consume Allspice

When it comes to using allspice while cooking, you can go either way – either use the whole berries or the ground spice. And because it has such a unique and multi-dimensional flavor profile, it pairs well with both sweet and savory dishes. You can drop a few dried allspice berries into your mulled wine or chai while brewing to add a deep, warm flavor to it. A pinch of ground spice sprinkled into curries, soups or stews gives them a more rounded flavor. You can even give your desserts like pumpkin pie, apple pie, and gingerbread a bit of a spicy kick with this spice. And, of course, you absolutely need to try out the allspice marinade that is used to make the lip-smacking Jamaican jerk chicken that we’re going to delve into next. 

Allspice Recipe

Jamaican Jerk Chicken 

Ingredients

• 6 boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 limes (juiced)
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 onions
• 1 1/2 cups green onions
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 habanero peppers

Procedure

1. Cut the chicken breasts into medium-sized chunks and put them in a big bowl.
2. Pour the water and lime juice over these chicken chunks.
3. Chop the onions, green onions, garlic, and habanero peppers to a fine texture.
4. Toss the allspice, nutmeg, salt, brown sugar, thyme, ginger, black pepper, and vegetable oil into a food processor and blend them for about a minute.
5. Add the chopped onions, green onions, garlic, and habanero peppers to the spice mixture in the food processor and blend until they form a smooth paste.
6. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the paste in a small bowl and pour the rest into the bowl of chicken.
7. Mix the paste into the chicken. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and place it in the fridge for 2 hours to marinate.
8. Cook the chicken on an outdoor grill on medium heat.
9. Turn the pieces frequently and baste them with the leftover paste at regular intervals.
10. Grill them to your desired level of tenderness.

Now that you’ve dug into some delicious Jamaican jerk chicken, it’s time we turned to more serious issues at hand and talked about how to select and best store allspice.

How To Select And Store Allspice

Though you can buy pre-ground allspice from the store, it is best that you don’t as it could be adulterated and not have the wholesome flavor of pure allspice.

Buy allspice corns (make sure you pick ones that are round and heavy) and grind them up with a mortar and pestle or in a mixer-grinder. Store this ground allspice in the fridge in airtight containers to retain its flavor and use it up before it goes stale and loses all its flavor.

If you would still rather avoid all the effort and prefer buying your allspice already ground up, here’s where you can buy it.

Where To Buy Allspice Berries

You can buy allspice in its various forms – berries, ground, or essential oil – from your nearest grocery store or online.

Well, you know about the benefits of allspice. But there’s a flipside. Here’s what you need to know about the side effects of allspice and its drug interactions.

Possible Side Effects And Interactions

Allspice is definitely a great ingredient that offers a range of benefits. But it also has some side effects that you need to be aware of:

• Hypersensitive individuals could experience an allergic reaction to allspice.
• Allspice can trigger seizures in epileptic individuals, so it’s best they steer clear of it.
• People with sensitive skin could experience rashes, contact dermatitis, or other reactions after consuming or topically applying allspice.
• People with gastrointestinal conditions like duodenal ulcers, reflux disease, spastic colitis, diverticulitis, and ulcerative colitis should avoid consuming allspice.
• People with cancer or at a high risk of cancer should avoid allspice as it contains a cancer-promoting component called eugenol.
• People who have blood clotting disorders are taking anticoagulants (including aspirin), and are about to get surgery should not use allspice or its essential oil because of its phenol content.
• Pregnant and lactating women should consult their healthcare provider before consuming allspice.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time you stocked up your pantry with allspice and sprinkled it on all food you came in contact with! Comment below to let us know which problem you’re hoping to remedy with this spice.

Precautions                                                                                                 

• Excessive use of this oil could cause irritation to the skin and mucus membrane.
• It should be used in low amounts.
• Avoid using by pregnant women.
• People with sensitive skin should not use it.

References

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