Researched and written by Keith Bishop, Clinical Nutritionist, Cancer Coach, and Retired Pharmacist.

Cloves are the dried flower buds of the evergreen tree Syzygium aromaticum. They are commonly used as a cooking spice and have been used in traditional medicine for centuries.

Clove, a spice native to Indonesia's Maluku Islands, has been esteemed for centuries in traditional medicine systems such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Historically, it has been utilized to address many ailments, including dental pain, digestive issues, respiratory conditions, and reproductive health concerns. The therapeutic properties of clove are attributed mainly to its rich phytochemical composition, notably eugenol, eugenol acetate, and β-caryophyllene, which confer antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antioxidant effects.[i]

In traditional practices, cloves were commonly employed to alleviate toothaches and oral infections, owing to their potent analgesic and antis...