Compound Monograph
Dehydrodiisoeugenol
Dehydrodiisoeugenol is a benzofuran neolignan — structurally the oxidative dimer of isoeugenol — co-identified as one of the principal antioxidant molecules of nutmeg seed.
Sources · 1
Where Does It Come From?
Dehydrodiisoeugenol is a naturally occurring neolignan (benzofuran-type), found in Nutmeg. Its toxicity is not yet characterized.
Concentration
Content by Source
Concentrations not reported. No percent-dry-weight or mg/g figures have been published for this compound in its source plants.
Research & Evidence
Dehydrodiisoeugenol is a benzofuran neolignan: structurally, two molecules of isoeugenol joined by oxidative coupling. In the solvent-fractionation study of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) seed it was co-identified with malabaricone C and malabaricone B as one of the principal molecules carrying the extract’s antioxidant activity 1Reference 1Evaluation of antioxidant and anti-α-glucosidase activities of various solvent extracts and major bioactive components from the seeds of Myristica fragransView study →.
That dimeric structure raises a question that cannot yet be settled. Because the molecule is formed by oxidative coupling of isoeugenol, it is worth establishing how much of the dehydrodiisoeugenol measured in a given nutmeg preparation is present in the intact seed and how much forms during drying, storage, distillation or extraction. Several nutmeg constituents behave that way, and the answer changes what the list of natural sources above actually means. Treat the attribution as provisional until a dedicated research pass resolves it.
It sits with the seed’s other lignans and neolignans — macelignan, malabaricone C and the mace neolignan licarin A — which together carry essentially all of the therapeutic preclinical activity attributed to nutmeg, as distinct from myristicin, which drives its toxicity.
Toxicity & Safety
No isolated-compound toxicity data were located, and there is no human exposure data for the purified molecule.
References
- Li, Chu, Huang, et al. (2020). Evaluation of antioxidant and anti-α-glucosidase activities of various solvent extracts and major bioactive components from the seeds of Myristica fragrans. Molecules. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25215198
