Herbs - Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum).

What Is It?

Cloves are dried buds from the evergreen tree Syzygium aromaticum / Eugenia caryophyllus. It is native to Indonesia and cultivated world-wide, especially in the Philippines, the Molucca Islands and Madagascar . It is a well-known remedy for toothache.

Action

The herb contains a heavy volatile oil that consists of camphor resin, flavanoids, sterols and eugenol. They have anaesthetic, carminative (wind relieving), warming, powerful antiseptic, mild antispasmodic, anti-histamine and anti-neuralgic properties.

Uses

Historically Cloves have been used to treat a number of conditions including:

• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Diarrhoea
• Dyspepsia
• Pleurisy and lung disorders (external use)
• Toothache
• Worms and intestinal parasites

Other information

Cloves have been shown to boost insulin activity, and may have future implications for people with diabetes. The herb can be chewed or used in cooking, bruised and used to make herbal tea, or the oil is sometimes found in dental preparations.

Cautions

• The aromatherapy oil of clove is contra-indicated during pregnancy.



• At the time of writing there are no well known side effects, drug interactions or contra-indications from using cloves.

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