Clove (Syzygium Aromaticum,)

Indigenous to Indonesia and Madagascar, clove (Eugenia Caryophyllata) can be found in nature as the unopened pink flower buds of the tropical evergreen tree. Clove is the dried bud of the flower from the tree Syzygium aromaticum. It belongs to the plant family of Myrtaceae. The plant is an evergreen plant growing in tropical and subtropical climates. Clove is an herb and people use various parts of the plant, including the dried bud, stems, and leaves to make medicine. Clove oil is also famous for its medicinal properties. Clove has been used for thousands of years in India and China not only as a spice and condiment but also as a medicine for many ailments. Ayurvedic medicining used cloves for tooth decay, halitosis, and bad breath. In Chinese medicine, clove was considered to possess aphrodisiac properties.

Clove, just like many other spices originating in Asia, has a great history behind it. During the 13th and 14th centuries, cloves were transported all the way from Indonesia to China, India, Persia, Africa, and Europe. During this time, cloves had a very high price, thus wars for monopoly over clove production and distribution began. Many wars were waged in order to control the islands of Maluku during both the medieval and modern period. The Dutch emerged victorious and held the Maluku islands for a very long time. Today, clove is a very important commercial crop all around the world. According to the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, the nutrients found in 100 grams of cloves include 65 grams of carbohydrate, 6 grams of protein, 13 grams of total lipids, 2 grams of sugars, 274 kcal of energy and 33 grams of dietary fibers. Minerals in cloves include calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, and zinc. The vitamins found in them include vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin D, and vitamin K.
This plant has the natural power of improving acne and skin health, it also fights candida, provides a good source of antioxidants, it is good for the digestive system and ulcer.
It is a very powerful antibacterial and immune system booster, it may help lower blood pressure and boost heart health, it has anti-inflammatory properties and protects the liver from oxidation.

Tamil Nadu - Region of Availability

Ref.
NCBI website: Investigation of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and DNA-protective properties of eugenol in thioacetamide-induced liver injury in rats.
Yogalakshmi B, Viswanathan P, Anuradha CV Toxicology. 2010 Feb 9; 268(3):204-12
Pourgholami MH, Kamalinejad M, Javadi M, Majzoob S, Sayyah
Purification and characterization of eugeniin as an anti-herpesvirus compound from Geum japonicum and Syzygium aromaticum.
Kurokawa M, Hozumi T, Basnet P, Nakano M, Kadota S, Namba T, Kawana T, Shiraki K J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1998 Feb; 284(2):728-35.
DR AXE website: BMC Complement Altern Med. 2010; 10: 69.
Published online 2010 Nov 15. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-10-69
The New York times By ANDREW POLLACKFEB. 26, 2010
J Dent. 2006 Nov;34(10):747-50. Epub 2006 Mar 13.