Allspice

Allspice is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica, an evergreen myrtle tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The green berries turn brown during drying. Their aroma recalls cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper, hence the English name. Whole berries season pickles and stews, while ground allspice goes into cakes, sausages and Jamaican jerk seasoning. The leaves are also used, including for distilling essential oil.

Caribbean and Mexican folk medicine records allspice for stomach complaints and aching muscles or joints. The plant parts and preparations differ between traditions. Eugenol dominates many berry oils and accounts for the clove-like aroma. The studies described here examine extracts, oils, cells and animals, and provide no clinical recommendation to treat illness with the kitchen spice. Concentrated allspice oil needs particular care because of irritation, eugenol and methyleugenol.

Allspice is native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, where modern ethnobotanical literature records several medicinal traditions. Montalvo-López and colleagues describe leaf infusions for stomach complaints and colic in Totonaca tradition. Zhang and Lokeshwar reported in 2012 that Jamaicans drank allspice tea for colds, menstrual cramps and indigestion, while Guatemalan practice applied crushed berries to bruises, sore joints and aching muscles. These accounts document folk use rather than clinical efficacy.

Kew identifies a November 1492 entry in Columbus’s journal as an early probable record. In Cuba, Columbus showed black pepper brought from Spain and asked about a local counterpart. Kew considers Pimenta dioica the likely plant meant, so the record is not a certain botanical identification. Jamaica later became an important producer. The names pimento and Jamaica pepper retain the association with the European spice trade.

Kew gives a local example from Caribbean trade. Cayman Islands archives contain records of allspice exports in the early to middle nineteenth century. Old groves in what is now George Town disappeared, while younger plants were raised from Jamaican seeds or seedlings. These local records show that the spice’s history extends beyond Jamaica.

Many Pimenta dioica berry and leaf oils contain substantial eugenol. The Guatemalan study published in 2020 measured 65.9% in fruit oil and 71.4% in leaf oil. Beta-myrcene and caryophyllene were other important constituents. Some other leaf samples contain substantial methyleugenol. The non-volatile fraction includes quercetin and gallic acid, and the eugenol glycoside ericifolin has been isolated from berry extracts. Clove and allspice both belong to the myrtle family but to different genera. Shared aromatic compounds do not make the plants or their preparations interchangeable.

The mechanisms described come mainly from laboratory and animal research. Allspice extracts showed antioxidant activity in chemical assays, and essential leaf oil inhibited bacterial cultures. Aqueous extracts have also been examined in animal blood-pressure experiments. Eugenol is used in dentistry for its local anaesthetic properties and inhibits platelet aggregation in laboratory tests. The platelet finding supports a precaution with concentrated preparations and blood thinners rather than a demonstrated interaction from seasoning food. Cell and tumour experiments investigate extracts and isolated compounds rather than treatment through an ordinary meal.

Research mainly consists of chemical analyses, cell cultures and animal experiments. Zhang and Lokeshwar’s 2012 review discusses eugenol, quercetin, gallic acid and ericifolin alongside antioxidant, antimicrobial and blood-pressure findings from laboratory or animal work. Later primary studies examined aqueous berry extracts in prostate and breast cancer models. Tumour growth was delayed in the mouse prostate model. In the breast cancer model, the reduction after tumour implantation was not statistically significant, while pretreatment of the mice delayed growth. Some cell lines were derived from humans, but the experiments were not treatments in patients.

Mérida-Reyes and colleagues examined Guatemalan leaf and fruit oils in 2020. Eugenol accounted for about 71% of the leaf oil and 66% of the fruit oil. The leaf oil inhibited four bacterial species in laboratory tests. Montalvo-López and colleagues instead analysed hexane leaf extracts from six trees in Veracruz, Mexico, in 2025. Methyleugenol was the largest chromatographic component. Toxicity was tested in living brine shrimp larvae (Artemia salina) rather than human cells. These findings provide neither therapeutic efficacy nor a safe dietary dose. EMA identifies methyleugenol as a genotoxic carcinogen and recommends minimising exposure in sensitive groups.

1. Laboratory study · 2020

   Mérida-Reyes and colleagues analysed leaf and fruit oils from six Guatemalan trees. Eugenol accounted for 71.4% of leaf oil and 65.9% of fruit oil, and leaf oil inhibited four bacterial species in laboratory tests. The experiments examined oil samples and bacterial cultures rather than people. The study describes composition and preclinical activity rather than a treatment for infection.

   Mérida-Reyes MS, Muñoz-Wug MA, Oliva-Hernández BE, Gaitán-Fernández IC, Reis Simas DL, Ribeiro da Silva AJ, Pérez-Sabino JF. Composition and Antibacterial Activity of the Essential Oil from Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr. from Guatemala doi:10.3390/medicines7100059
2. Animal study · 2025

   Montalvo-López and colleagues studied leaves from three female and three male trees in Veracruz, Mexico. Hexane extracts contained methyleugenol as the largest chromatographic component and showed moderate toxicity in a test using living brine shrimp larvae. These were neither distilled oils nor human cell cultures. The assay does not provide a safe dietary amount for people.

   Montalvo-López I, García-Mateos MDR, Martínez-Solís J, Soto-Hernández RM, Ybarra-Moncada MC. Molecular Characterization, Identification of the Volatile Organic Compounds by GC-MS, and Assessment of the Cytotoxic Activity of Leaves of Pimenta dioica L. Merrill Trees from Mexico doi:10.3390/metabo15090617
3. Animal study · 2013

   A 2013 study examined aqueous allspice berry extract and ericifolin in prostate cancer cell lines, and the extract in mice with implanted tumours. Cell experiments found inhibition of growth and androgen-receptor signalling. In the oral mouse experiment, with eight animals per group, tumours grew more slowly. These small preclinical experiments provide no basis for treating cancer with allspice in people.

   Shamaladevi N, Lyn DA, Shaaban KA, Zhang L, Villate S, Rohr J, Lokeshwar BL. Ericifolin: a novel antitumor compound from allspice that silences androgen receptor in prostate cancer doi:10.1093/carcin/bgt123
4. Animal study · 2015

   A 2015 study tested berry extract in breast cancer cell lines and mouse groups of five to seven animals. After tumour implantation, the mean growth reduction was about 14%, which was not statistically significant (p ≥ 0.20). With two weeks of pretreatment, the authors reported a 38% delay. The difference in experimental conditions matters, and no benefit in patients was tested.

   Zhang L, Shamaladevi N, Jayaprakasha GK, Patil BS, Lokeshwar BL. Polyphenol-rich extract of Pimenta dioica berries (Allspice) kills breast cancer cells by autophagy and delays growth of triple negative breast cancer in athymic mice doi:10.18632/oncotarget.3834

Forms and preparation

Whole allspice berries season pickled vegetables, marinades and stews. Ground allspice is used in spiced cakes, sausages and Jamaican jerk seasoning. The literature also records allspice tea in Jamaican folk practice without establishing a standard dose here. That historical use is not a treatment recommendation for indigestion. Essential oil is distilled from leaves and berries for flavouring, fragrance and toiletries. Such a concentrate is not a seasoning amount. Undiluted oil can irritate skin and mucous membranes. Do not swallow fragrance or toiletry oil, and seek medical advice about concentrated preparations. A product label alone is insufficient evidence for a safe oral dose or suitability during pregnancy and breastfeeding or for young children. In Jamaican cooking, allspice is more than a seasoning from a jar. Zhang and Lokeshwar describe allspice-seasoned meat cooked over pimento wood. Berries are also soaked in rum to make an allspice liqueur. Kew names pimento dram as a Jamaican drink. Seasoning, wood smoke and an alcoholic infusion are different culinary uses of the same plant.

Dosage

Use allspice to season food to taste. The sources described do not establish a tested medicinal dose or a standard amount for tea. A traditional tea preparation is not a tested dosage. Do not take concentrated essential oil on your own initiative. High doses of eugenol can injure the liver. Avoid concentrated oil and high-dose preparations during pregnancy and breastfeeding, in young children and with blood thinners without medical advice.

Special populations

Ordinary seasoning amounts in food and concentrated oil require separate assessment. The reviewed sources provide no specific allspice safety assessment in pregnant or breastfeeding women or children. A known allergy requires avoidance of the spice too. EMA recommends minimising methyleugenol exposure in young children and during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Avoid concentrated oil and high-dose preparations in these groups without medical advice. The same caution applies with liver disease and anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicines.

Drug interactions

Eugenol inhibits platelet aggregation in laboratory tests. This supports caution when concentrated allspice oil or high-dose preparations are combined with anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicines such as warfarin, clopidogrel or aspirin. NSAIDs can also increase bleeding risk. This is a precaution derived from eugenol experiments rather than a documented interaction from an ordinary seasoning amount of allspice. Avoid concentrated oil and high-dose preparations before surgery without medical advice, and tell your doctor about their use if you take blood thinners.

Contraindications

Allspice is a culinary spice. If you have a known hypersensitivity, avoid ordinary seasoning amounts too. Concentrated oil and high-dose preparations require the additional precautions below. Hypersensitivity to allspice or eugenol: anyone who reacts to it should avoid it. Concentrated essential oil and high-dose supplements: best avoided in pregnancy and breastfeeding, in young children, by people with liver disease, and before surgery or while on anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicines, without medical advice.

Side effects

Allergic reactions to the kitchen spice are possible. Eugenol can cause local irritation and contact allergy. The severe liver and kidney injuries described in LiverTox concern overdoses of concentrated clove oil rather than ordinary seasoning amounts. The shared eugenol content also warrants care with concentrated allspice oil. Stop an oil or preparation if an adverse reaction occurs and seek medical advice.

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2. Shamaladevi N, Lyn DA, Shaaban KA, Zhang L, Villate S, Rohr J, Lokeshwar BL.. Ericifolin: a novel antitumor compound from allspice that silences androgen receptor in prostate cancer. 2013. doi:10.1093/carcin/bgt123
3. Zhang L, Shamaladevi N, Jayaprakasha GK, Patil BS, Lokeshwar BL.. Polyphenol-rich extract of Pimenta dioica berries (Allspice) kills breast cancer cells by autophagy and delays growth of triple negative breast cancer in athymic mice. 2015. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.3834
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