Essential NoseClove
Three clove oils exist, from the bud, the leaf and the stem, and they are not the same thing. All run on eugenol, the compound behind the numbing feel of clove on a sore tooth. Bud oil is the fine one, smoothest and sweetest, and the one worth paying for. Leaf oil is harsher and cheaper, and is where most industrial eugenol comes from. Eugenol numbs by firing the nerve endings that report heat and then wearing them out, and it breaks down bacterial cell membranes.[1][2]
Clove Bud
Syzygium aromaticum
- Also Known As
- Clove, Eugenia Caryophyllata
- Family
- Spice
- Perfumery Note
- Middle
- Intensity
- Very Strong
- Extraction
- Steam Distillation
- Plant Parts
- Stems
- Origins
- Madagascar, Indonesia, Sri Lanka
- Effect
- Focus & Mental Clarity, Respiratory Support, Grounding & Centering
- Aroma
- Spicy, Warm, Sweet
- Applications
- Diffusing & Inhalation, Cooking & Flavouring, Household & Cleaning
- Price
- $$$$A byproduct of the clove bud harvest; extremely high in eugenol and very inexpensive to produce
Clove bud oil is the good one, distilled from the unopened flower buds. Between seven and nine tenths of it is eugenol, with eugenyl acetate rounding off the sharpness that leaf oil lacks. Eugenol numbs by first firing the nerve endings that report heat and pain, then leaving them unable to fire again. It also blocks the sodium channels nerves use to signal, which is why dentists have used clove for centuries.[1] It breaks open bacterial cell membranes and stops them producing the tools they use to infect.[2]
Clove Leaf
Syzygium aromaticum
- Also Known As
- Clove Leaf Oil, Feuille de Girofle, Eugenia Caryophyllata Leaf Oil
- Family
- Spice
- Perfumery Note
- Middle
- Intensity
- Very Strong
- Extraction
- Steam Distillation
- Plant Parts
- Leaves
- Origins
- Madagascar, Indonesia, Sri Lanka
- Effect
- Respiratory Support, Warming & Comforting
- Aroma
- Spicy, Sharp, Harsh, Woody
- Applications
- Diffusing & Inhalation, Cooking & Flavouring, Household & Cleaning
- Price
- $$$$Distilled from clove leaves, a low-value byproduct of the flower-bud harvest, making it the cheapest and most abundant source of natural eugenol on the market.
Clove leaf oil is the cheap one, distilled from leaves swept up after the bud harvest. It is even higher in eugenol than bud oil but has almost none of the eugenyl acetate that softens it.[3] The result smells harsh and one-dimensional. That free eugenol also makes it more irritating to skin, eyes and airways than bud oil.[5] Regulators treat the two as separate substances with separate permitted levels, which tells you how different they are.[4]
References
- [1]Clove Essential Oil (Syzygium aromaticum L. Myrtaceae): Extraction, Chemical Composition, Food Applications, and Essential Bioactivity for Human Health - Batiha GE et al. Foods, 2021
- [2]Antimicrobial activity of eugenol and essential oils containing eugenol: A mechanistic viewpoint - Marchese A et al. Crit Rev Microbiol, 2017
- [3]Chemical composition and antioxidant properties of clove leaf essential oil - Jirovetz L, Buchbauer G, Stoilova I, Stoyanova A, Krastanov A, Schmidt E. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2006
- [4]Safety and efficacy of feed additives consisting of essential oils derived from the flower buds or the leaves of Syzygium aromaticum (clove bud oil and clove leaf oils) for all animal species - EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed, Bampidis V, Azimonti G, et al. EFSA Journal, 2023
- [5]Investigation of the dermal sensitization potential of various essential oils in the local lymph node assay - Lalko J, Api AM. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2006