Clove

Syzygium aromaticum · Eugenia caryophyllata · Clove oil

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Toothache from dental cavity¹ Minor mouth and throat inflammation¹ Local analgesia²	Clove or Peru balsam allergy¹ Pregnancy or breastfeeding³

Clove is the dried flower bud of Syzygium aromaticum, and its essential oil is predominantly eugenol, which carries anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anesthetic activity. That local numbing effect drives the main use: traditional dental and oromucosal application for toothache from a dental cavity and for minor inflammation of the mouth and throat¹. It is also used as inhaled aromatherapy for post-procedure pain⁴. Typical users are adults with dental or oral discomfort.

The European herbal monograph rests on long-standing use rather than trials, and clinical studies are few¹. In a 2025 randomized trial of patients after spinal anesthesia, headache fell in the clove and lavender aromatherapy group and the control group alike, and the difference from standard care was not statistically significant. In a 2023 laboratory study with animal toxicity testing, a clove extract inhibited Candida krusei in culture; no human trial has tested it⁵. Products listing clove number 911 in the label database, and sampled products are mostly liquid botanical extracts; see Form comparison.

Oral clove oil is the main safety concern: LiverTox rates it a probable cause of clinically apparent liver injury in overdose⁶, and the European monograph reports life-threatening conditions in young children after oral ingestion¹. Health Canada labels on 17 of 30 licensed oral products ask patients taking prescription medications to consult a health care practitioner³.

Last updated October 17, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

45 sources, 33 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources