Oil of clove, also known as clove oil, is an

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

extracted from the

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...

plant, ''

Syzygium aromaticum Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...

''. Clove oil is commonly used in

aromatherapy Aromatherapy is based on the usage of aromatic materials including essential oils and other aroma compounds, with claims for improving psychological and physical well-being. It is offered as a complementary therapy or as a form of alternative m ...

and for flavoring food and some

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

are the main producers of clove oil. Some countries, such as the UK, acknowledge its use for temporary relief of

toothache Toothache, also known as dental pain,Segen JC. (2002). ''McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine''. The McGraw-Hill Companies. is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or pain referred to the te ...

, although there is insufficient medical evidence to support its use as an

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

Types and phytochemicals

There are three types of clove oil: * Bud oil is derived from the flower-buds of ''S. aromaticum''. It consists of 60–90%

eugenol Eugenol is an allyl chain-substituted guaiacol, a member of the allylbenzene class of chemical compounds. It is a colorless to pale yellow, aromatic oily liquid extracted from certain essential oils especially from clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil ...

eugenol acetate Acetyleugenol is a phenylpropanoid compound found in cloves. It is the second in abundance to the related compound eugenol in certain extract preparations. Like eugenol, its found in several plants such as ''Acacia nilotica'' and ''Piper betle'' a ...

caryophyllene Caryophyllene (), more formally (−)-β-caryophyllene, (BCP), is a natural bicyclic sesquiterpene that is a constituent of many essential oils, especially clove oil, the oil from the stems and flowers of '' Syzygium aromaticum'' (cloves), the ess ...

and other minor constituents. * Leaf oil is derived from the leaves of ''S. aromaticum''. It consists of 70–82% eugenol, and some amounts of beta Caryophyllene and alpha Humulene. * Stem oil is derived from the twigs of ''S. aromaticum''. It consists of 85–92% eugenol, with other minor constituents. Stem oil is closer in olfactive and flavor profile to Bud oil.

Distilled Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

clove oil from buds contains mixed

phytochemical Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes . Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons ...

s, including as main constituents

phenylpropanoid The phenylpropanoids are a diverse family of organic compounds that are synthesized by plants from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. Their name is derived from the six-carbon, aromatic phenyl group and the three-carbon propene tail of ...

s (primarily eugenol),

carvacrol Carvacrol, or cymophenol, C6H3(CH3)(OH)C3H7, is a monoterpenoid phenol. It has a characteristic pungent, warm odor of oregano. Natural occurrence Carvacrol is present in the essential oil of ''Origanum vulgare'' (oregano), oil of thyme, oil ob ...

thymol Thymol (also known as 2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol, IPMP), , is a natural monoterpenoid phenol derivative of ''p''-Cymene, isomeric with carvacrol, found in oil of thyme, and extracted from ''Thymus vulgaris'' (common thyme), ajwain, and vario ...

, and

cinnamaldehyde Cinnamaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula(C9H8O) C6H5CH=CHCHO. Occurring naturally as predominantly the ''trans'' (''E'') isomer, it gives cinnamon its flavor and odor. It is a phenylpropanoid that is naturally synthesized by the shik ...

, with smaller quantities of

polyphenol Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of ...

carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...

lipid Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include ...

oleanolic acid Oleanolic acid or oleanic acid is a naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid related to betulinic acid. It is widely distributed in food and plants where it exists as a free acid or as an aglycone of triterpenoid saponins. Natural occurre ...

, and

rhamnetin Rhamnetin is an O-methylated flavonol, a type of chemical compound. It can be isolated from cloves. The structure of the molecule was discovered by Austrian chemist Josef Herzig (1853–1924). Glycosides Rhamnetin is the aglycone of xanthorha ...

Human health

Toxicity

Clove oil is toxic in anything other than small therapeutic doses, and several cases of acute liver and kidney damage have been reported, principally in children.

Toothache

Particularly in South Korea and India,

, a

extracted from clove oil, is used to relieve

. Applied to a cavity in a decayed tooth or

tooth socket Dental alveoli (singular ''alveolus'') are sockets in the jaws in which the roots of teeth are held in the alveolar process with the periodontal ligament. The lay term for dental alveoli is tooth sockets. A joint that connects the roots of the ...

remaining after

extraction Extraction may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * Comedo extraction, a method of acne treatment * Dental extraction, the surgical removal of a tooth from the mouth Computing and information science * Data extraction, the pro ...

, eugenol or clove oil may relieve toothache temporarily. In the United States, the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

considers eugenol ineffective for treating dental pain, and has downgraded clove oil as an analgesic due to insufficient evidence to rate its effectiveness.

Other uses

Eugenol is a reliable source for producing natural

vanillin Vanillin is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a phenolic aldehyde. Its functional groups include aldehyde, hydroxyl, and ether. It is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean. Synthetic vanillin is now used ...

(by the US definition). It is a versatile molecule, which can be converted to vanillin with a few simple steps of conversion through the use of naturally available phytochemicals. Clove oil is commonly used to anesthetize or

euthanize Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eutha ...

laboratory or pet fish. Clove oil is a component of choji oil (), which was traditionally used for the maintenance of Japanese swords.

Regulation

In Germany, ''

Commission E The German ''Commission E'' is a scientific advisory board of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices formed in 1978. The commission gives scientific expertise for the approval of substances and products previously used in traditional, f ...

'' permits the sale and administration of clove oil as a medicinal herb.

References

{{reflist

Cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...

Dental materials