Exploring Nutmeg’s Intriguing Place in History Using Narrative and Project-Based Approaches in the Science Laboratory

摘要

Developing strategies to engage students in the science classroom and laboratory is a critical task of any post-secondary science instructor/professor. The use of narratives and project-based learning are two methods that can be effective in enhancing the learning process and maximizing student success in coursework. We were inspired by the book, Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History by Couteur & Burreson [1], to develop a series of skill-building activities that could be used as individual or interrelated laboratory experiments or as a capstone project to teach/enforce a variety of chemistry (and some associated biology-related) content in the post-secondary science laboratory. The book discusses the importance of nutmeg and its active component, isoeugenol, within the historical context of potentially protecting individuals against the Black Plague and also nutmeg’s role in the Treaty of Breda [1]. Using this narrative, the essential oil of nutmeg formed the topic for the series of project-based laboratory activities. The essential oil of nutmeg was extracted, isoeugenol was identified and quantified using a variety of analytical methods, and zone of inhibition microbial tests and antioxidant capacity measurements were performed on nutmeg. Analytical instrumentation traditional to the chemistry curriculum; including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC), and infrared spectroscopy were employed, with a microplate spectrophotometer used as an extension activity. In addition, general laboratory skills such as sample/standard preparation, sterile technique, calibration curves, and the analytical process were enforced.