1. Nutmeg, which is used as a condiment in manufacturing fish ham and fish sausage, was subjected to steam distillation and the distillate was extracted with ether. The volatile compounds were separated Into fatty acids, phenols and terpenes.
2. The terpene fraction was refractionated, each fraction was submitted to chromatostripping, and the presence of a-pinene, a-terpineol, linalool and geraniol was presumed.
3. Antibacterial activity of each fraction was tested with Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus morganii and Escherichia coli. All the fractions inhibited bacterial growth at dilutions lower than 20-200 times.