Clove

Eugenia carophyllata syn. Syzgium aromaticum

According to the writings of Chinese physicians, during the Han dynasty (207 B.C. to A.D. 220) court visitors were required to hold cloves in their mouths when addressing the emperor-presumably so that he would not be offended by their bad breath. By the 4th century A.D. Europeans had heard about the pungent and aromatic flower buds, and trade had begun with Arabs who acquired the dried buds from the east. In later centuries, cloves were among the precious spices for which European nations competed.

The competition for cloves heated into a fierce trade war between the Portuguese and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries. The clove tree was native to many of the Moluccas, or Spice Islands. But the Dutch established a monopoly by destroying all of the trees except those that grew on one island, Ambon, which they owned. Eventually the French managed to cultivate the tree on their islands, and by the start of the 19th century, cloves were being grown on plantations in many tropical lands. Zanzibar (now part of modern Tanzania) has long been a major grower. Other clove-producing countries include Jamaica, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia (which includes the Moluccas). Indonesians consume half of the world's clove supply; they mix the spice with tobacco to make a special kind of cigarette.

The handsome clove tree is a pyramidal broad-leaved evergreen that may reach a height of 30 to 40 feet. Its smooth, shiny leaves are dotted with glands that emit the tree's characteristically aromatic fragrance. Even more fragrant are the tiny yellow flowers that appear in loose clusters at the ends of branches, but these flowers are seldom allowed to bloom. When the pink buds turn fiery red at the base, they are plucked and sun-dried to a deep reddish brown. These dried buds are the delicious-smelling cloves known to pharmacists and gourmet chefs around the world.

Although kitchens are among the primary consumers of cloves, a large percentage of the small, hard buds go to processing plants, where clove oil is extracted by distillation. This essential oil, which holds such chemicals as eugenol and eugenyl acetate, accounts for most of clove's culinary and medicinal properties. Oil of clove is widely used by dentists in fillings and cements and in post -extraction treatment. The warm pungent smell of clove also lends itself to soaps, lotions, and toothpastes.

Possessed of both antiseptic and anodyne, or pain-relieving, qualities, cloves have long been popular in folk medicine. Generations of folk healers, pharmacists, and dentists have prescribed cloves or clove oil to relieve toothache. The herbal literature of many lands recommends clove tea, made by steeping the buds in boiling water, to cure nausea and to rid the stomach and intestines of gas. The Chinese use oil of clove to treat diarrhea and hernia. Tinctures of clove oil are also effective against such disease-causing fungi as those that cause athlete's foot.

Parts used

Flower buds.

Uses

Ancient all-purpose remedy - Cloves have been used in Southeast Asia for thousands of years and were regarded as a panacea for almost all ills.
Antiseptic - The antiseptic property of cloves makes them useful for treating certain viral conditions. In tropical Asia, they have often been given to treat infections such as malaria, cholera, and tuberculosis, and parasites such as scabies.
Antispasmodic - Digestive discomfort, such as gas, colic, and abdominal bloating, can be relieved with cloves. Their antispasmodic property also eases coughs and, applied topically, relieves muscle spasms.
Mind & body stimulant - Cloves are a stimulant, both to the mind (improving memory) and to the body as a whole, and have been used as an aphrodisiac both in India and in the West. The herb has also been used to prepare for childbirth. Clove helps stimulate and strengthen uterine muscle contractions in labor.
Additional uses - Besides all their other uses, cloves can be used to treat acne, bell's palsy, skin ulcers, sores, and styes. They also make a potent mosquito and moth repellent. Oranges studded with cloves were used in the Moluccas as insect repellents.
Western herbalism - Despite the bewildering variety of their therapeutic uses, cloves are underrated in the West. They are used regularly only in mouthwashes and for their local anesthetic effect - for example, in relieving toothache.

Habitat & cultivation

Originally from the Molucca Islands (Indonesia) and the southern Philippines, cloves are now grown extensively in Tanzania and Madagascar and, to a lesser extent, in the West Indies and Brazil. The tree is grown from seed in spring or from semi ripe cuttings in summer. Twice a year, the unopened flower buds are picked and then sun-dried.

Research

Volatile oil - Argentinian research in 1994 showed clove's volatile oil to be strongly antibacterial. Eugenol (a phenol) is the largest and most important component of the volatile oil. It is strongly anesthetic and antiseptic, and therefore useful in pain relief for toothache and as an antiseptic for many conditions.
Acetyl eugenol - Acetyl eugenol, another component of the volatile oil, has been shown to be strongly antispasmodic.

Constituents

Clove contains volatile oil; eugenol (up to 85%), acetyl eugenol, methyl salicylate, pinene, vanillin. Gum and tannins.

How much to take

Cloves may be used as a spice in foods or in teas by putting some cloves into a cup with roiling water and infusing them for 10 minutes.
For toothache put a clove near the tooth and keep in the mouth.
Alternatively pour some clove oil on cotton wool and put this near the tooth.

Collection & harvesting

The flower buds are collected from this tree when their lower parts turn from green to purple. Clove grows all around the Indian Ocean.

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