- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- Maluku Islands, Indonesia; dried flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum
Asia · Food · № 42
Syzygium aromaticum
Food · Asia
Clove
Syzygium aromaticum
A spice. Clove oil containing eugenol may help with toothache; other claims are unproven.
Safety notes
Undiluted oil can irritate mucous membranes; do not swallow it and do not use it on young children. Toothache needs dental care.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Chinese materia medica: Not with heat. Traditionally not combined with curcuma (yu jin).
Preparation
Whole or ground in dishes and tea. Use the oil only diluted and locally.
Use in traditions
Until the colonial era, cloves grew only on a few Moluccan islands such as Ternate and Tidore. They are mentioned in the Ramayana and the Charaka Samhita; around 200 BCE, Chinese ministers sucked cloves to sweeten their breath before addressing the emperor.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Herbal medicine worldwide
Attributed effects
Stimulating, carminative, anti-emetic, antiseptic, pain-relieving, antispasmodic.
Preparation and amount
Flower buds, essential oil.
Herbs for viral infections
Attributed effects
Antiviral (carvacrol, thymol, eugenol); especially against colds; further for digestive complaints, poor appetite, travel sickness, respiratory diseases.
Preparation and amount
Whole cloves in food (store cool and dark); do not take clove oil internally and only use it diluted externally, for example 1 drop on a cotton bud for toothache.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- pungent, warm
- Meridians
- kidney, spleen, stomach
Attributed effects
Ding xiang warms the middle and makes the qi descend in vomiting, hiccups, abdominal pain and diarrhoea from a cold stomach, and warms the kidney yang in impotence and clear discharge.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 1–4 g a day, usually in a decoction.
Combinations
- With persimmon calyx and ginseng for hiccups from cold
- With bai zhu, cardamom and dried ginger for a cold stomach
Caution: Not with heat. Traditionally not combined with curcuma (yu jin).
Folklore and herbal magic
Symbolic meanings from folk use and modern herbal magic. These are handed-down associations, not effects.
Protection, purification, mental powers, healing, attraction, comfort.
Home, kitchen and folk use
Preparation and amount
Cooking and baking; 3 cloves in a pouch or amulet; protection pouch above the door or in the car; protection oil; spice sugar.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)DecoctionHerbal oil (oil infusion)Powder and kitchen