Picked by hand in late summer and again in winter, the buds are dried until they turn brown. The buds are then left whole, ground into a spice or are steam-distilled to produce concentrated clove essential oil.
Clove oil is produced by distilling the dried flower buds. Other parts of the tree, such as the stem and leaves, may also be used. Clove oil also can be extracted through cold pressing.
Clove oil is colorless or pale yellow and has a strong, spicy aroma, has been used for centuries in a variety of applications. Clove oil is a mixture of different compounds, with the three main active ingredients being eugenol, eugenyl acetate and caryophyllene.
Clove oil has biological activity relevant to human health, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, and insecticidal activity. Clove oil uses range from dulling pain and improving blood circulation to reducing inflammation and acne.
One of the best-known clove oil uses is helping combat dental problems, such as toothaches. Eugenol, cloves principal constituent was used in the dental industry for years to numb gums. Eugenol acts as an anesthetic and antibacterial agent.
Clove oil also showed fungicidal activity against several plant pathogenic fungi such as Fusarium solani, Phythopthora capsici, Sclerotium rolfsii, Rigidoporus lignosus, Colletotrichum, Pseudomonas solanacearum, and nematodes.
Clove oil was reported as an inhibitor of platelet aggregation and thromboxane synthesis and may act as an antithrombotic agent.
Clove oils
