Useful principle of aromatic herb, Cloves

Cloves are an aromatic herb that has many useful purposes. The aroma of the cloves is pleasant yet spicy and can be used to make drawers and closets smell nice. Cloves has some medicinal purpose as well and it tastes good in certain dishes like spice cake. Cloves like to grow in hot tropical climates like the islands of Indonesia. The composition of a clove varies somewhat according to the agro-climatic conditions under which it is grown, processed and stored. After several years of intensive research, various molecular targets for the prevention and treatment of cancer have been identified. Clove flower buds are harvested in their immature state and then dried. Whole cloves are shaped like a small, reddish-brown spike, usually around 1 centimeter in length, with a bulbous top. Cloves can be used whole or ground, and they have a very strong, pungent flavor and aroma.

Taxonomical Classification

Common Names

Cloves, Carophyllus, Clovos

Names in Indian languages

Sanskrit :Bhadrasriya, Devakusuma, Devapuspa, Haricandana, Karampu, Lavanga, Lavangaka, Lavangam, Varala.

Hindi: Laung, Laumg, Lavang.

Malayalam : Grampu, Karampu, Karayampu

Marathi :Luvang.

Kannada :Lavanga, Daevakusuma, Krambu.

Tamil :Kirampu, Ilavankam, Kiraambu, Kirambu, Grambu

Telgu : Devakusumamu, Lavangamu, Lavangalu, Kaaravallu

Bengali :Lavanga

Gujarati : Lavang

Punjabi :Laung

Oriya : Labang

Urdu : Laung, Loung

The clove plant is an evergreen tree that can reach a height of thirty or forty feet high. The leaves of the clove are leathery textured and are covered with many tiny depressions. The part of the clove that is used is the flower buds of the clove. The aromatic oils of the clove have a stimulant and irritant effect. Cloves can increase blood circulation and raise a person’s temperature slightly. The oils of the cloves have been known to stimulate and disinfect a body as it travels through the body. Clove can be used to promote the flow of saliva and gastric juices. If you have stomach pain or gas in the stomach then the use of cloves can help to relieve the stomach pain. You can prepare a cup of clove tea by taking a cup of boiling water and adding a teaspoon of clove powder to it. Then let the water and clove steep for a few minutes before you drink it. Clove tea has been known to relieve nausea and vomiting. When cloves are used externally on the body it can relieve the pain in chronic rheumatism, toothache and lumbago. Cloves can also help to relieve the pain of muscle cramps and some nerve conditions. You can apply clove oil along the nerve where the pain is. To deodorize a smelly drawer or closet you can put some cloves in a smell container that is open and let it sit in the drawer or closet. Leave the container open and put it in a place that it will not spill. Or you can tie up a handful of cloves in a handkerchief and put it in a closet or drawer. The scent of cloves is pleasant and nice. Cloves are a very useful herb that has many uses for the body and the aroma. Cloves can be used to spice up foods like a ham or cake. Cloves can be purchased in a power form or it can be in a dried whole flower bud form. You can buy cloves in a grocery store in the spice section. Clove is an herb. People use the oils, dried flower buds, leaves, and make medicine. Cove is used for upset stomach and as an expectorants make it easier to cough up phlegm. Clove oil is used for diarrhoea, hernia, and bad breath. Clove and clove oil are used for intestinal gas, nausea, and vomiting. Clove is applied directly to the gums (used topically) for toothache, for pain control during dental work, and for a complication of tooth extraction called “dry socket.” It is also applied to skin as a counterirritant for pain and for mouth and throat inflammation. In combination with other ingredients, clove is also applied to the skin as a part of a multi-ingredient product used to keep men from reaching orgasm too early (premature ejaculation). In foods and beverages, clove is used as flavouring. In manufacturing, clove is used in toothpaste, soaps, cosmetics, perfumes and cigarettes. Clove cigarettes, also called kreteks, generally contain 60% to 80% tobacco and 20% to 40% ground clove. Eugenol, one of the chemicals in clove, acts like menthol to reduce the harshness of tobacco smoke. Cloves are the pink flowering bud of a form evergreen tree (Eugenia aromatica), hich are dried until brown and used for medicinal and spicing purposes. Indigenous to the Moluccas spice islands of Indonesia, cloves also grow naturally in India, the West Indies, Tanzania, Srilanka, Brazil and Madagascar. With their sultry sweet aromatic flavour and powerful essential oil compounds, cloves have been used for hundreds of years as a nutritional spice for food and a remedy for a variety of health concerns. For over 2,000 years, both Indian and Chinese traditional medicine made extensive use of clove flowers and clove oil. Arabic traders brought the buds to Europe in 4th century A.D., and in the seventh and eighth century A.D. Europe, cloves become very popular as a medicinal flower, due to their ability to preserve foods, and mask the smell of poorly-kept foods . Medicinally, the well-known traditional remedy of applying clove oil to treat a toothache was documented for the first time in 1640 in ‘practice of physic’ in France . In Chinese traditional medicine clove oil has been used as carminative, antispasmodic, antibacterial and antiparasitic agent, while the buds were used to treat dyspepsia, acute/chronic gastritis and diarrhoea . Several scientific studies have been carried out on E. Caryophyllata oil and its main volatile constitutent eugenol, revealing pharmacological properties such as anaesthetic and analgesic effects. In addition, antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant , anticarcinogenic , antimutagenic , repellent and antifumigant activities have been reported. The traditional use indicates that a clove has several therapeutic properties, such as an aphrodisiac , stomachic , carminative , nervous stimulant and tonic . There are a number of scientific reports about its aphrodisiac , antibacterial antifungal nematocidal , anti-toothache , anti-oxidant , analgesic , anaesthetic and hypotensive properties. Although in Iranian traditional medications several formulations containing cloves have been used as a nervous stimulant and cognitive enhancer.

“All those spices and herbs in your spice rack can do more than provide calorie-free, natural flavorings to enhance and make food delicious. Theyre also an incredible source of antioxidants and help rev up your metabolism and improve your health at the same time.”