Clove bud Oil
Botanical binomial: Eugenia caryophyllata
Family: Myrtacea
Other names: Syzygium aromaticum, Eugenia aromaica, E. caryophyllus
Country of Origin: Indonesia
Part of plant used in production: Buds
Methods of production: Steam distillation
| Description: | A tall, slender evergreen tree with rosy-pink corolla at the start of the rainy season. As the corolla fades later on in the season the calyx becomes deep red. The calyx is then beaten from the tree and dried, providing buds. Clove oil may also be made from the stems and leaves of the tree which gives it a variety of uses due to different components found in each. |
| Characteristics: | Clove bud oil has a soft, floral scent contrary to the strong spicy odour of stem or leaf oils. It is colourless to yellow-brown, darkening with age. |
| Properties: | Analgesic, anticeptic, antispasmodic, carminative, stomachic, uterine. |
| Constituents: | Eugenol (80-85%), Eugenyl acetate (8-12%), Caryophyllene (6-10%), Isocaryophyllene (0-2.0%). |
| Uses: | Clove oils are useful in treating inflammations such as rheumatoid arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions. Their anaesthetic properties are essential for toothaches. Clove oils also stimulates digestion, restores appetite and relieves flatulence. It is used in many foods and beverages and specifically clove bud oil is used in pharmaceutical and dental products. In perfumery, bud oil forms the basis of carnation, rose and honeysuckle perfumes. |
| Blends well with | Basil, black perpper, cinnamon, ginger, lavender, lemon, nutmeg, orange, peppermint, rosemary, thyme. |
| Interesting Facts: | The common name clove comes from the French clou meaning nail due to the resemblanceof the buds to tiny nails. |
| Safety: | Non-sensitizing and non-irritating at 5% dilution or 0.2% in dermatoses patients. Clove bud oil is safer on the skin than clove leaf or stem oils. It should not be used directly on the skin unless diluted under 1%. |
