Parts Used: Buds.
Pharmacy name: clove – Caryophylli tios (formerly: Flores Caryophylli), clove oil – Caryophylli aetheroleum (formerly: Oleum Caryophylli).
Botanical description. The clove tree comes from the Moluccas and the Philippine Islands. It is bred in addition to these places in Malaysia and on the East African coast. This slender evergreen tree reaches a height of 10-20 m. All its parts contain fragrant essential oil – a feature in general of representatives of the myrtle family. The clove tree in its youth has a pyramidal shape, with age the branches protrude and even hang down. Leaves are leathery, ovate, 5-15 cm long, glabrous, opposite, entire, covered with punctures in the light. In the terminal three-membered umbellate inflorescences, yellowish-white flowers are collected with a red tubular calyx.
Collection and preparation. The inflorescences are harvested as a whole when they are fully developed, but the flowers in them have not yet opened. Sometimes they are simply knocked down with a pole, but traditionally the harvest is carried out more carefully and the inflorescences are plucked from special platforms. The buds are cut off and dried in the air. The goods differ in the place of preparation (for example, Zanzibar carnation, Madagascar carnation or Pennang Amboin carnation) and in their quality. To obtain the essential oil of clove, not only flowers are used, but also leaves and bark.
active ingredients. Depending on the origin and quality, clove buds contain 15 to 22% essential oil and 8 to 14% tannins, as well as flavonoids, sterols and almost 10% fatty oil. The essential oil consists mainly of eugenol. Both of these main components – essential oil and tannins – are the main active ingredients.
Healing action and application. The aroma of the clove tree and the palatability of the raw material determine its use in medicine. Clove is used in the manufacture of medicinal products to improve their taste and as a tonic. In the form of a tincture, it is mainly prescribed as a disinfectant for the mouth and throat, as well as an aphrodisiac. The disinfectant effect of cloves has been known since the Middle Ages. During epidemics of plague and cholera, doctors wore carnation beads around their necks, put cloves in their mouths and chewed them when visiting the sick. The essential oil is an integral part of a complex alcoholic lemon balm tincture, as well as in all kinds of appetite stimulants and restorative agents.
Use as a condiment.There was a time when this spice was literally worth its weight in gold. In China, carnations were known long before our chronology, in ancient Egypt too (carnation buds strung in the form of beads were found in ancient Egyptian tombs). The first information about the use of cloves in Europe dates back to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine I, who presented this spice to Pope Sylvester I somewhere between 313 and 337. Abbess Hildegard von Bingen first called her a carnation. In Europe, cloves were delivered from the Arabs. Later, the Dutch merchants seized the monopoly on this spice, but it was soon intercepted by the French and the Portuguese. Nowadays, cloves as a spicy seasoning are used all over the world for drinks, fruit juices, preserves of fruits and vegetables, compotes, pastries, and mainly for Christmas cakes. A favorite spice of cloves is not only its pleasant aroma, but also the ability to improve digestion. Red cabbage, heavy for the stomach, with onions becomes more palatable and better digested; sauerkraut with cloves is also easier to digest. An experienced cook stuffs a whole onion with cloves and adds it when cooking cabbage dishes; the optimal dose is 5-10 pcs. cloves for 1 onion. Before serving, the stuffed onion is removed, and the cabbage is well mixed. Ground cloves (a pinch!) are added to boiled fish, when preparing spaghetti sauces and as a seasoning for various types of pizza. It is especially good to add a small amount of cloves to game. but also the ability to improve digestion. Red cabbage, heavy for the stomach, with onions becomes more palatable and better digested; sauerkraut with cloves is also easier to digest. An experienced cook stuffs a whole onion with cloves and adds it when cooking cabbage dishes; the optimal dose is 5-10 pcs. cloves for 1 onion. Before serving, the stuffed onion is removed, and the cabbage is well mixed. Ground cloves (a pinch!) are added to boiled fish, when preparing spaghetti sauces and as a seasoning for various types of pizza. It is especially good to add a small amount of cloves to game. but also the ability to improve digestion. Red cabbage, heavy for the stomach, with onions becomes more palatable and better digested; sauerkraut with cloves is also easier to digest. An experienced cook stuffs a whole onion with cloves and adds it when cooking cabbage dishes; the optimal dose is 5-10 pcs. cloves for 1 onion. Before serving, the stuffed onion is removed, and the cabbage is well mixed. Ground cloves (a pinch!) are added to boiled fish, when preparing spaghetti sauces and as a seasoning for various types of pizza. It is especially good to add a small amount of cloves to game. Before serving, the stuffed onion is removed, and the cabbage is well mixed. Ground cloves (a pinch!) are added to boiled fish, when preparing spaghetti sauces and as a seasoning for various types of pizza. It is especially good to add a small amount of cloves to game. Before serving, the stuffed onion is removed, and the cabbage is well mixed. Ground cloves (a pinch!) are added to boiled fish, when preparing spaghetti sauces and as a seasoning for various types of pizza. It is especially good to add a small amount of cloves to game.
Side effects. “Too much is unhealthy!” – talk about cloves. This applies equally to both the spice and the medicinal product. All types of medicinal raw materials rich in essential oil irritate the mucous membrane, which is good in small doses, but harmful in large doses. But the intense smell has traditionally prevented overdose.