What are the medicinal properties of cloves. Clove spice where it grows

Unusual-looking clove buds are famous not only for their burning taste and spicy aroma, but also for their therapeutic effect. This spice has been used in recipes for a long time. traditional medicine for the prevention and even treatment of certain diseases. So, about unique medical properties unopened buds of the clove tree Syzygium are read in this article.

The chemical composition of fragrant cloves

Only one bud, but what a variety useful substances! The chemical composition of cloves is unusually large. Its beneficial properties are explained high content vitamins, minerals and of course essential oil.

Clove bud vitamins: provitamin A (beta-carotene), B vitamins (B1, B2, B3 or PP, B4, B6, B9), vitamin C ( vitamin C), vitamin E (tocopherol) and vitamin K (phylloquinone). Carnation contains useful minerals: potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, manganese, copper, selenium, zinc.

The same amount in cloves and tannins, as well as glycosides and mucus.
If we consider the content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, then in cloves there are 6% proteins, 20% lipids, about 27% carbohydrates. Approximately 30% of the spice is fiber.

8 health benefits of cloves

No wonder cloves are the most powerful medicine just look at its composition.

Actions of the clove:

1. bactericidal;
2. anthelmintic (anthelmintic);
3. antifungal (fungicidal);
4. painkiller;
5. antispasmodic;
6. wound healing;
7. carminative (for flatulence)
8. anticarcinogenic.

Many pathogens are afraid of cloves: for example, Staphylococcus aureus and white, diphtheria bacillus, and even pathogen anthrax etc. Fragrant carnation suppresses the multiplication of tubercle bacillus. It is effective to use cloves to prevent influenza.

When eating cloves, the production of digestive juices is stimulated, which is useful for gastritis with low acidity, decreased appetite. But at hyperacidity and gastric ulcer, the use of this remedy is contraindicated.

Cloves are used in the treatment of inflammation in the large intestine (colitis), intestinal colic, flatulence (carminative effect), diseases of the rectum, liver.

When industrial pharmacies were widespread, special dental painkillers and bactericides with eugenol, which is part of fragrant cloves.

This spice can remove toothache, has a beneficial effect on the gums, is used for gingivitis and periodontitis. Dried clove buds are a great alternative to chewing gum as they neutralizes harmful bacteria and eliminates bad smell from mouth.

The complex of B vitamins, which is so necessary for our nervous system, can be obtained from your favorite spice. It is no coincidence that clove extract is included in the German drug Doppelgerz Melissa, which has a calming effect.

Carnation, due to the eugenol contained in it, effectively fights growth cancer cells. This was shown by the latest research of scientists in the field of anti-carcinogenic agents.

Surprisingly, the clove has two opposite actions at once: it tones and relieves spasms. She is able to relax and tone at the same time. On the one hand, cloves are able to relieve spasm of the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract. intestinal tract, on the other hand, to tone the muscles of the uterus and raise blood pressure(therefore, cloves are contraindicated in people with arterial hypertension). The whole question, as always, is in the dosage.

Recipes

A wonderful recipe for heart health is mulled wine, which is prepared with the use of fragrant cloves. There are many recipes for mulled wine, but cloves and cinnamon are most often used. Usually, mulled wine is boiled, but it is more efficient to infuse cloves without boiling for several weeks, since during heat treatment, its vitamins and aromatic substances disappear and are destroyed.
It is better to take 0.5 l of high-quality red wine (not powdered), add 5 clove buds to the bottle, add a little cinnamon if desired. Close tightly with a cork and insist in a dark place for 3 weeks. Take 1 teaspoon with tea 1-3 times a day.
For problems with the oral cavity, toothache, inflammation of the gums, stomatitis, bad breath, it is useful to chew clove buds. These same actions will prevent the beginning of a sore throat.
To stimulate digestion, 1-2 clove buds with 1 teaspoon of honey are thoroughly chewed 15 minutes before meals. However, it is contraindicated in gastric ulcer and duodenum as well as high blood pressure.
With hypotension, you can also chew a few cloves, the effect will be no less than from caffeine.
Clove oil is effective in the treatment of pustules and boils. Apply 1 drop of concentrated essential oil to the boil. At problematic skin take baths with clove essential oil.
Clove oil is widely used for arthritis and arthrosis. It helps relieve pain and inflammation. To do this, massage the diseased joint with diluted clove essential oil (15 drops of clove essential oil for 1 tablespoon of massage oil).
There are traditional medicine tips for preparing decoctions from the buds of the clove tree. However, the medicinal value of such drugs will be small, since the substances that make up the buds are destroyed during heat treatment.

How to choose a carnation

A brittle, too dry bud indicates the absence of essential oils. When you throw a quality kidney into water, it floats vertically, with the foot down, or sinks to the bottom of the glass. If the “carnation” lies horizontally on the surface of the water, then there are no essential oils in it. Such a carnation is unsuitable for medicinal purposes.

Cloves are not only flowers, but also a popular spice. It has a spicy pungent aroma that makes culinary dishes more attractive. But not only in cooking, dried buds of the clove tree syzygium are used.

The benefits of cloves

The positive effect of this seasoning on the human body is very wide. She has antiseptic properties and has a bactericidal effect, well suited for relieving pain and spasms. Cloves are used to heal wounds and cracks in the skin.

When adding cloves to culinary dishes, you can have a positive effect on the activity of the digestive tract. This spice causes more active production of gastric juice, stimulates appetite and normalizes digestion.

With the help of cloves, you can get rid of toothache and give freshness to your breath. It is used to treat certain dental ailments, such as periodontal disease.

According to the results latest research found that this spice helps to cope with oncological diseases. It is used in the development of a drug for the treatment of leukemia.

Harm of cloves

Although this spice has a lot positive qualities, we must not forget about possible harm it for the human body. First of all, this applies to certain health conditions. For example, you should not abuse cloves with high acidity. gastric juice, since in this case the spice will irritate the walls of the stomach.

Pregnant women can be harmed by cloves. It has strong tonic properties and can provoke early term miscarriage. The spice can change the taste breast milk Therefore, when breastfeeding, it is better to refuse cloves.

The ability of cloves to influence the condition nervous system may be harmful to young children and people with nervous disorders and diseases. Do not abuse this spice and hypertension.

Cloves contraindications

Based on the foregoing, several human health conditions can be formulated in which the use of cloves is contraindicated. These include:

Children's age up to 3 years.
Peptic ulcer and gastritis with high acidity.
Severe heart disease and vascular pathology.
High nervous excitement becomes a contraindication to the use of cloves not only as spices, but also in the form of infusion, oil and others.
and breastfeeding.

The use of cloves

AT European countries Cloves are used primarily as a spice. In ancient times, it was brought to Europe by the Arabs. The right to monopoly trade in cloves in different time owned by Holland, Portugal and France.

Now cloves are used to prepare a variety of dishes from meat and fish, it is added to home-made canned food, to confectionery dishes. Meat broths and fish soups get a unique flavor when cloves are added.

If you decide to cook dishes with the addition of cloves, then it is important to know that it does not tolerate a long heat treatment. From this, both the taste and aroma of the spice are lost. Therefore, it is better to add it at the very end of cooking. In wine, cloves give off their aroma much better and reveal their taste qualities.

Clove essential oil is often used in cosmetics. It has a rejuvenating and antioxidant effect. Remedies with clove oil treat many skin diseases. For example, for the treatment skin rashes use baths with the addition of essential oil of cloves.

For face good action renders a mask of 5 drops of clove, honey, cream and pharmacy clay, taken 1 tablespoon each. All components are mixed and applied to the skin for 10 minutes.

For morning rubbing, cosmetic ice with the addition of clove oil is well suited. The mixture for its preparation is done as follows: 2 drops of clove oil and cosmetic cream in a volume of 6 ml are dissolved in a glass of water.

With clove oil, you can gently cauterize abscesses and boils, applying it pointwise to the affected area. This procedure must be done constantly, until complete recovery.

Essential oil, when mixed with any base oil, works great against cellulite. It can be used both for massage and for anti-cellulite wraps.

To normalize digestion, use a mixture of a teaspoon of honey, a pinch of ground cloves and the same amount of black ground pepper. Take this mixture morning and evening.

To get rid of various problems oral cavity, for example, with stomatitis, inflammation of the gums, toothache or just bad breath, it is recommended to chew one clove bud. In the same way, you can help with the onset of angina.

When you need to chew a few things of cloves. You will get an effect comparable to that of caffeine.

Use clove oil to relieve pain from arthritis or arthrosis. To do this, mix a tablespoon of massage oil with 15 drops of clove essential oil and use this mixture by rubbing it into the sore joint.

It is good for heart health to drink mulled wine with cloves. For a drink to have healing properties it is prepared without cooking. For this version of the drink, a bottle of high-quality red wine is suitable. Pour 5 cloves and a pinch of cinnamon into it. Close the bottle well with a cork and leave to infuse for 3 weeks without access to light. Add ready-made mulled wine to tea in a teaspoon and drink up to three times a day.

Clove spices are collected and dried unopened almost flowers of a tropical tree. Carnation has a low cost due to the simple cultivation and harvesting, which is carried out twice a year. The clove spice does not look like that at all. Like a decorative garden flower familiar to us. This is a large evergreen tree that grows in India, Zanzibar, Indonesia and the Philippines. Before the appearance of buds, the buds break and dry, it is in this form that they come to us. Buds are plucked only from trees that have reached the age of six.

Useful properties of cloves

Many countries use cloves in their own way: France is famous for its perfumes, England for its cuisine, India for its aromatherapy. Despite such extensive use of the spice, it does not lose its medicinal properties in any of its transformations.

Clove has antiviral, antifungal, analgesic and antibacterial properties.
Due to the presence of manganese, cloves help normalize digestion, strengthen bones, develop and actively work enzymes in the human body.
Stimulates blood flow to organs and normalizes blood flow throughout the body. It is advised to take people who often have cold limbs.
Improves memory, activates the brain.
Facilitates breathing, frees the airways from mucus and inflammation.
Helps improve appetite.
Raises blood pressure.
Promotes the outflow of bile and stones from the gallbladder and bladder.
Normalizes acidity in the intestines.

The composition of the cloves includes:

glycosides;
caryophyllene;
Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin C, Vitamin PP;
Sodium, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Phosphorus, Manganese;
fatty substances;
Tannins;
Minerals;
Oleic acid;
Eugenol;
Furfural;
Humulen.

In ancient times, cloves helped our ancestors treat diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, cholera. Scientists have proven that 15 ml of clove essential oil contains as many antioxidants as 45 kg of wild blueberries.

Applications of cloves

The spice cap has the strongest aroma, and its petiole contains the highest concentration of essential oil and they have a burning aftertaste. If the clove smell is the key in the preparation of this or that dish, then the spice should be added to the dish as late as possible. Can't stand the smell of cloves high temperatures and quickly disappears.

Cloves are added to kretek cigarettes in Indonesia.
In the West, cloves are an essential element that is added to coffee and teas in bars and cafes.
In cooking, cloves are used as spices for the preparation of various marinades, as well as in the preparation of meat, fish and confectionery dishes. Especially popular in English cuisine.
Ointments and medications containing cloves are actively used in sports medicine for the treatment of muscle strain and muscle pain, bruises. Quickly heal wounds and restore the body.
In cosmetology, it is part of creams, ointments, balms. Indispensable for the manufacture of perfumes.

Check the cloves for the presence of useful elements very easy. It must be thrown into the water with force. A large amount of essential oil should pull the spice to the bottom, a medium amount will cause it to float vertically upside down. If the carnation does not sink and whirls on the surface of the water, then there are practically no useful elements left in it.

Contraindications

Sometimes, for treatment and use in food, not a whole clove bud is used, but only a cap or petiole. Read recipes carefully, each part is useful and harmful in its own way.

For cooking, you can use up to 5 kidneys per dish, depending on the volume of the dish itself. In preservation - no more than 3 pieces per liter of liquid.
It is not advised to use cloves in marinades and dishes where the constituent component is any alcoholic drink. The bitterness of cloves is very quickly extracted into alcohol.
Do not use for children under 2 years old, and for pregnant women and young mothers - only in a diluted form. You can dilute the clove concentrate with coconut or olive oil.
Since cloves increase blood pressure, they should not be taken by people suffering from hypertension.
May cause individual intolerance.

Despite its external dissimilarity to a decorative flower, it is thanks to him that the spice got its name. People simply noticed that the bud has the same shape as the flower, and gave it the same name - carnation.

The rather peculiar, spicy and burning aroma of cloves makes it even very tasty dish even tastier and more appetizing. This spice is used for cooking fish, meat, minced meat, broths, various sauces, desserts, it is good in alliance with cinnamon, it perfectly flavors drinks.

But the benefits of cloves are not limited to this, and it is used no less actively in cosmetology and medicine - in the treatment of many diseases. Its benefits have long been scientifically proven. In fact, the medicinal properties of cloves are endless.

It grows on an evergreen tropical clove tree from the myrtle family, reaching a height of a seven-story building. Carnation buds are harvested in an unopened state, and only then they are dried in the sun.

The ancient Greek botanist Theophrastus called the spice carnation a "divine flower". The unblown form of the spice itself contributed to this. There are about 300 types of this spice.

The fruit of the spice has the appearance of an oblong box, the top of which is crowned with four cloves. Carnation seeds are always black in color and are round, oblong or flat shape. For the first time, the fruits are removed from the tree after 20 years of life, but then the harvest can be harvested every 6 months for 50 years, and it can be very plentiful.

Useful properties and composition

It is not surprising that for so many centuries, doctors and scientists have not left the carnation alone and continue their research on it. After all, it contains so many vitamins, micro and macro elements that this spice can compete with a full multivitamin complex.

Studies have proven the presence of such minerals in chemical composition dry plant:

The presence of a number of vitamins has been proven:

beta-carotene,
vitamins of group B (these are vitamins B1 - B9, PP),
ascorbic acid,
tocopherol,
phylloquinone.

Nutritional value per 100 g of cloves:

protein content in the amount of 6 g;
fat - 20 g;
carbohydrates - 27 g;
the third part of the clove is fiber, which directly affects the peristalsis of the intestinal tract, in the ratio of 34 g to 100 g.

Also, the spice is rich in ash, water, essential oils, which are valuable aroma compounds, which include eugenol, ylangen, caryophyll, etc. Clove buds are also saturated with tannins, mucus and glycosides.

Medicinal properties

Most of the benefits of the spice are concentrated in the bud, from which the essential oil of clove, eugenol, is extracted. This oil has medicinal properties and gives the clove its unique and specific aroma. It will help:

Help cloves at home

When something hurts or gets worse chronic illness, the usual improvised components can help, and in particular dry spice - cloves, which almost everyone always has in stock. Here are some clove recipes.

When a sore throat or hiccups, you will need to bring 200 ml of milk to a boil and throw 5 crushed clove buds there. Be sure to drink hot in small sips and hold in the mouth, closer to the throat cavity.

When bad smell from the mouth and caries, you just need to chew a clove bud after eating. Cloves can even kill the smell of garlic and onions.

When massage is prescribed for arthritis and arthrosis, it is better to do it with a massage agent with the addition of a small amount of clove oil.

When wounds and boils do not heal well, you need to apply clove oil directly to the wounds themselves.

When you have a cold and cough, you need to literally mix a pinch of ground cloves with a teaspoon of honey and eat the mixture in the morning and evening.

When poor digestion, you need to add black pepper and a pinch of chopped cloves to a teaspoon at the tip of a knife, eat a few minutes before meals.

Tea recipe #1

In boiling water, put a clove bud and a small piece of ginger (fresh), after boiling, remove from heat and add black tea, cover with something tightly and let it brew well. Then we filter and pour milk into the drink. This remedy will relieve hiccups and help.

Recipe #2

Pour hot water over one stick of cinnamon and let it brew. After 10 minutes, add 2-3 clove buds and a teaspoon to the infusion. orange peel. The resulting infusion is mixed with fresh brewed black tea in a ratio of 1/1. It will be more useful if the infusion is drunk with honey, this is an excellent warming and strengthening remedy for winter times.

Recipe #3

First you need to brew strong black tea, and then we start preparing the syrup according to this recipe: dissolve 2 teaspoons of sugar in 1/5 liter of water (hot) and add juice squeezed from one lemon, then mix the syrup with tea and put a few clove buds there . Leave to infuse, and then drink. You can drink such an infusion at least every day, and it helps in enriching the body with vitamins and increasing body tone.

How to prepare clove oil at home?

Bring to a boil over low heat 100 ml olive oil and a tablespoon of clove buds. The oil is allowed to cool and filter, stored in the refrigerator.

Contraindications

It is not allowed to use cloves in the treatment of children under 2 years old, it is contraindicated in hypertensive people, pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Since cloves are hot spice, then it irritates the mucous digestive organs, and it should not be used by ulcers, patients with gastritis and having increased gastric acidity.

Overwork and nervous tension are also signals to abandon this spice, since it already has an invigorating effect and the consequences can even be serious nervous breakdowns.

When you can help yourself in an illness, it is certainly good. But no one has canceled doctors yet, and we should never forget about them. Worth going to the doctor and getting the same treatment prescription folk remedy so that later the head does not hurt, from which they “crawled out” side effects and what went wrong. So there is only one advice - you don’t need to rely only on yourself, you also need to rely on the knowledge of doctors.

Spices and spices exist to improve the taste of ready meals.

One can be added to in large numbers, following only taste preferences e.g. paprika, pepper, salt. Others are good in moderation, while others add flavor and piquancy to the dish, even in minimal doses.

These seasonings, or rather spices, include cloves.

Many people mistakenly consider this spice and the flowers that adorn the shelves with riotous colors. flower shops, if not the same plant, then closely related.

This misjudgment comes from the spicy clove flavor that unites them.

Interesting facts about the spice cloves

Cloves are the dried unopened flower buds of the clove tree myrtle caryophyllis. As a spice, it has been known since ancient times. And it was once valued more than gold.
The birthplace of cloves is Indonesia. But she was also known Ancient China. It was there that the custom was born to chew cloves during an audience with the emperor. After all, this spice is an excellent antiseptic and destroys bad breath. Therefore, it is widely used in dentistry.
The use of cloves improves digestion, cleanses the blood. Chewing a clove bud reduces toothache.
But its main purpose is to improve the taste of dishes.

There are spices and spices that are put only in meat dishes or in pastries. But cloves are such a versatile spice that they can be added to almost any dish.

Cloves in baking

Many people first get acquainted with cloves by trying gingerbread. It is in them that this spice is a frequent ingredient.

An interesting fact is that in the 9th-10th centuries gingerbread was made from rye flour and honey and was therefore called honey bread. And only after 2-3 centuries, thanks to cloves and other spices, they began to be called gingerbread.

In pastries, cloves are most often added in a mix with other spices - cinnamon, cardamom, lemon zest, ginger.

The natural appearance of a carnation is a bud about a centimeter long in the form of a “carnation” with a “hat”, for which it received its name. During the manufacture of gingerbread or gingerbread, it is placed directly in flour, before grinding it into powder.

This spice is added very carefully, trying not to get too carried away with it, since an excess of clove flavor can adversely affect palatability baking.

Cloves in canning

When canning vegetables, cloves are often added to the marinade. Thanks to her, they acquire a spicy taste and a pleasant spicy aroma.

Cloves go well with other spices: bay leaf, pepper, cinnamon, garlic. Marinade from such a “bouquet” of spices is poured over cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, beets.

Cloves are also added when pickling mushrooms. For more piquancy, star anise, cinnamon, garlic, bay leaf, tarragon and vinegar are also put in the marinade. By the way, this marinade is very popular when canning mushrooms.

Unlike pastries, in which the cloves are necessarily crushed, they are put whole in marinades, as well as other spices, because when boiling water with spices, they all give off their flavor to the liquid, which is then poured over vegetables and mushrooms. And after a while, the taste and aroma of spices successfully passes into vegetables.

Cloves in drinks

Cloves are used to flavor kvass.
There is also a recipe for vodka with cloves. It is ground into powder and added to alcohol together with cinnamon. Then insist and filter.
This spice is also used to make mulled wine. In addition to it (in this case, the cloves are not crushed), for this drink they also take cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg. All spices are boiled together with rum, and then filtered through a strainer.
clove tea improves the condition in diseases respiratory tract. A clove bud is placed in a saucepan, poured hot water, add a small piece of ginger and bring it all to a boil. Put a teaspoon regular tea, close the lid and insist.

Cloves in fish products

This spice is not often added during the preparation of fish dishes, so as not to drown out the natural smell of fish.

But recipes have been preserved in which cloves were one of the ingredients. For example, when earlier sturgeon and beluga were salted in tubs, then each row of fish was sprinkled with a layer consisting of dry hops, bay leaf, pepper and cloves.

Cloves in Indian cuisine

Probably, it is in Indian cuisine that cloves occupy special place, because the Indians cook almost all dishes with the addition of spices and herbs. But they do not try to kill the taste of products (usually vegetables), but only give them a light aroma.

In Indian cuisine, there are specially selected mixtures of spices called masala. They also include cloves.

For example, there is such a composition of spices - garam masala. These are "hot spices" that whet the appetite and warm the body. They are added at the end of cooking or even before serving.

To do this, take 2 tbsp. l. coriander, 1 tbsp. l. cumin, 1 tbsp. l. black peas, half a teaspoon of cloves, 1 cinnamon stick. Each spice is lightly toasted in a dry frying pan, then mixed and ground. Store in a dry place in a glass jar with a lid.

Cloves in meat dishes

Gourmets know what a wonderful aroma clove gives to meat dishes.

But since it has a sharp-spicy smell, it is not added to any meat. For example, in dishes with chicken, it will be superfluous. But for lamb, cloves are just right. In the dishes "Lamb with prunes" or "Lamb ragout" cloves are added necessarily.

"Lamb with prunes". Fried pieces of lamb are mixed with browned onion, tomato, poured with broth so that it only covers the meat. Put prunes. Stew until ready. 10 minutes before the end of cooking add cinnamon, cloves, salt, sugar, vinegar.

Note to the owner

Each housewife determines the amount of cloves in dishes on her own, taking into account her taste preferences.
Concentration aromatic oils even in one bud of carnation is not the same. The petiole of the bud has a burning taste, but the cap gives a more delicate aroma. For the same reason, it is better to use hats in sweet pastries or compotes, and you can also put a petiole in a meat dish.
In alcohol or vinegar, the aroma of cloves is stronger, so you need to strictly follow the dosage indicated in the recipe.
If, in addition to cloves, other spices and spices are used, then its rate is significantly reduced.
The quality of the spice can be determined by immersing the buds in water. If there is enough essential oil in them, then they will either drown, or they will float in "columns" - with caps up.
Ground spices quickly lose their flavor, so they are ground as needed.
Hypertensive patients should use cloves very carefully, as it increases blood pressure.