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| − | :''This article is about the [[spice]]; for other meanings see [[clove (disambiguation)]].'' | + | :''This article is about the term clove, like a garlic clove; for clove plant see [[Syzygium aromaticum]].'' |
| − | {{Taxobox
| + | One of the separable parts of a composite [[bulb]], as of the [[garlic]]. |
| − | | color = lightgreen
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| − | | name = Clove
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| − | | image = Koeh-030.jpg
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| − | | image_width = 240px
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| − | | regnum = [[Plant]]ae
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| − | | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
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| − | | classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
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| − | | ordo = [[Myrtales]]
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| − | | familia = [[Myrtaceae]]
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| − | | genus = ''[[Syzygium]]''
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| − | | species = '''''S. aromaticum'''''
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| − | | binomial = ''Syzygium aromaticum''
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| − | | binomial_authority = ([[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]) Merrill & Perry
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| − | }}
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| − | [[Image:CloveCloseUp.jpg|left|thumb|180px|A single dried clove [[flower]] bud]]
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| − | '''Cloves''' (''Syzygium aromaticum'', [[synonymy|syn.]] ''Eugenia aromaticum'' or ''Eugenia caryophyllata'') are the aromatic dried [[flower]] buds of a tree in the family [[Myrtaceae]]. It is native to [[Indonesia]] and used as a [[spice]] in cuisine all over the world. The name derives from French ''clou'', a nail, as the buds vaguely resemble small irregular nails in shape. Cloves are harvested primarily in [[Zanzibar]], [[Indonesia]] and [[Madagascar]]; it is also grown in [[Pakistan]], [[India]], and [[Sri Lanka]].
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| − | The clove tree is an [[evergreen]] which grows to a height ranging from 10-20 m, having large oval [[leaf|leaves]] and crimson flowers in numerous groups of terminal clusters. The flower buds are at first of a pale color and gradually become green, after which they develop into a bright red, when they are ready for collecting. Cloves are harvested when 1.5-2 cm long, and consist of a long [[calyx (botany)|calyx]], terminating in four spreading [[sepal]]s, and four unopened petals which form a small ball in the centre.
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| − | ==Uses==
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| − | [[Image:ClovesDried.jpg|left|thumb|180px|Dried cloves]]
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| − | [[Image:2005clove.PNG|thumb|right|Clove output in 2005]]
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| − | According to [[FAO]], Indonesia produced almost 80% of the world's clove output in 2005 followed at a distance by Madagascar and Tanzania.
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| − | Cloves can be used in cooking either whole or in a ground form, but as they are extremely strong, they are used sparingly. The spice is used throughout [[Europe]] and [[Asia]] and is smoked in a type of [[cigarette]]s locally known as ''[[kretek]]'' in Indonesia and in occasional coffee bars in the West, mixed with [[marijuana]] to create marijuana [[spliff]]s (zigzags). Cloves are also an important [[incense]] material in [[Culture of China|Chinese]] and [[Culture of Japan|Japanese]] culture.
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| − | Cloves have historically been used in [[Indian cuisine]] (both [[North Indian]] and [[South Indian]]). In the north Indian cuisine, it is used in almost every sauce or side dish made, mostly ground up along with other spices. They are also a key ingredient in tea along with green cardamoms. In the south Indian cuisine, it finds extensive use in the [[biryani]] dish (similar to the [[pilaf]], but with the addition of local spice taste), and is normally added whole to enhance the presentation and flavor of the rice.
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| − | ==Medicinal Uses==
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| − | Cloves are used in [[Ayurveda]], [[Chinese medicine]] and western [[herbalism]] and [[dentistry]] where the essential oil is used as an [[anodyne]] for dental emergencies. Cloves are used as a [[carminitive]], to increase hydrochloric acid in the stomach and to improve [[peristalsis]]. Cloves are also said to be a natural [[anthelmintic]].<ref>Balch, Phyllis and Balch, James. ''Prescription for Nutritional Healing'', 3rd ed., Avery Publishing, ©2000, pg. 94.</ref> The essential oil is used in aromatherapy when stimulation and warming is needed, especially for digestive problems. Topical application over the stomach or abdomen will warm the digestive tract.
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| − | In Chinese medicine cloves or ''ding xiang'' are considered acrid, warm and aromatic, entering the Kidney, Spleen and Stomach channels, and are notable in their ability to warm the middle, direct Stomach [[qi]] downward, to treat [[hiccough]] and to fortify the Kidney [[yang]]. <ref>''Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica'', Third Edition by Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey, Erich Stoger, and Andrew Gamble 2004</ref> Because the herb is so warming it is contraindicated in any persons with fire symptoms and according to classical sources should not be used for anything except cold from yang deficiency. As such it is used in formulas for impotence or clear vaginal discharge from yang deficiency, for morning sickness together with [[ginseng]] and [[patchouli]], or for vomiting and diarrhea due to Spleen and Stomach coldness.<ref>''Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica'', Third Edition by Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey, Erich Stoger, and Andrew Gamble 2004</ref> This would translate to hypochlorhydria. ''(Note that capitalized organ names refer to the Chinese meridians named after them.)''
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| − | Ayurvedic herbalist K.P. Khalsa, RH (AHG), uses cloves internally as a tea and topically as an oil for hypotonic muscles, including for multiple sclerosis. This is also found in Tibetan medicine. <ref>http://www.tibetmed.org/questions/question_44.htm</ref>Ayurvedic herbalist Alan Tilotson, RH (AHG) suggests avoiding more than occasional use of cloves internally in the presence of [[pitta]] inflammation such as is found in acute flares of autoimmune diseases. <ref>http://oneearthherbs.squarespace.com/diseases/special-diets-for-illness.html Tilotson, Alan. ''Special Diets for Illness''</ref>
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| − | ==Toxicity==
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| − | Large amounts should be avoided in pregnancy. Cloves can be irritating to the GI tract, and should be avoided by people with gastric ulcers, colitis, or IBS. In overdoses, cloves can cause vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and upper GI hemorrhage. Severe cases can lead to changes in liver function, dyspnea, loss of consciousness, hallucination, and even death.<ref>''Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica'', Third Edition by Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey, Erich Stoger, and Andrew Gamble 2004</ref> The internal use of the essential oil should be restricted to 3 drops per day for an adult as excessive use can cause severe kidney damage.
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| − | ==History==
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| − | Until modern times, cloves grew only on a few islands in the [[Maluku Islands]] (historically called the [[Spice Islands]]), including [[Bacan]], [[Makian]], [[Moti]], [[Ternate]], and [[Tidore]].<ref name="Turner">{{cite book | author=Turner, Jack | title=Spice: The History of a Temptation | publisher=Vintage Books | year=2004 | id=ISBN 0-375-70705-0 | pages=p. xv}}</ref> Nevertheless, they found their way west to the [[Middle East]] and [[Europe]] well before the time of Christ. Archeologists found cloves within a ceramic vessel in [[Syria]] along with evidence dating the find to within a few years of [[1721 BC]].<ref name="Turner"/>
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| − | <!-- In the [[4th century BC]], [[China|Chinese]] leaders in the [[Han Dynasty]] required those who addressed them to chew cloves so as to freshen their breath. (The Han Dynasty did not exist in the 4th Century BC) -->Cloves, along with [[nutmeg]] and [[Black pepper|pepper]], were highly prized in [[Roman Empire|Roman]] times, and [[Pliny the Elder]] once famously complained that "there is no year in which India does not drain the Roman Empire of fifty million [[sesterces]]". Cloves were traded by [[Arabs]] during the [[Middle Ages]] in the profitable [[Indian Ocean]] trade. In the late fifteenth century, [[Portugal]] took over the Indian Ocean trade, including cloves, due to the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] with [[Spain]] and a separate treaty with the sultan of [[Ternate]]. The Portuguese brought large quantities of cloves to [[Europe]], mainly from the [[Maluku Islands]]. Clove was then one of the most valuable spices, a [[kilogram|kg]] costing around 7 g of [[gold]]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}.
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| − | The trade later became dominated by the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] in the seventeenth century. With great difficulty the [[France|French]] succeeded in introducing the clove tree into [[Mauritius]] in the year 1770; subsequently their cultivation was introduced into [[Guiana]], [[Brazil]], most of the [[West Indies]], and [[Zanzibar]], where the majority of cloves are grown today.
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| − | In Britain in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, cloves were worth at least their weight in gold, due to the high price of importing them.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
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| − | The clove has become a commercial 'success', with products including clove drops being released and enjoyed by die-hard clove fans.
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| − | ==Active compounds==
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| − | The compound responsible for the cloves' aroma is [[eugenol]]. It is the main component in the [[essential oil]] extracted from cloves, comprising 72-90%. Eugenol has pronounced antiseptic and anaesthetic properties. Other important constituents include essential oils [[acetyl eugenol]], [[beta-caryophylline]] and [[vanillin]]; [[crategolic acid]]; [[tannin]]s, [[gallotannic acid]], [[methyl salicylate]] (painkiller); the [[flavanoids]] [[eugenin]], [[kaempferol]], [[rhamnetin]], and [[eugenitin]]; tri[[terpenoid]]s like [[oleanolic acid]], [[stigmasterol]] and [[campesterol]]; and several [[sesquiterpenes]]. <ref>''Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica'', Third Edition by Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey, Erich Stoger, and Andrew Gamble. 2004</ref>
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| − | ==Notes and references==
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| − | <references/>
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| − | {{Herbs & spices}}
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| − | <!--Currently a disambig page. Should someday redirect to the spice article when that is written-->
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| − | [[Category:Cigarette additives]]
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| − | [[Category:Myrtaceae]]
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| − | [[Category:Spices]]
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| − | [[Category:Flora of Indonesia]]
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| − | [[Category:Herbs]]
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| − | [[Category:Incense]]
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