Clove oil

Химические свойства

Clove bud oil is obtained by the distillation of buds with water or steam. The yield is typically between 15 and 18%, but is dependent on the quality of the buds, precautions exercised and distiller efficiency. Of the clove oils, clove bud oil is the most expensive. Approximately 50 tons is produced each year in Madagascar. The oil has the characteristic clove-like aroma and a burning, spicy flavor.

Физические свойства

The oil is clear and mobile. The color usually darkens with age.

Вхождение

Found in the buds of Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb. (Fam. Myrtaceae) (Fenarolfs Handbook of Flavor Ingredients, 1971).

Использование

Clove oil, the traditional cure for toothache, can do more than numb the gums. This sweet, warm, spicy oil is an effective antiseptic that can be applied to infected wounds; in fact, when diluted to 1 percent, clove oil is up to four times more effective than phenol in killing bacteria. An effective insect repellent, clove oil can be used on herbal flea collars or added to herbal sprays. Taken internally, it helps prevent flatulence, digestive problems and diarrhea. As clove oil was traditionally recommended for strengthening the uterus and aiding in childbirth (some authorities recommend that women eat cloves during their last month of pregnancy and drink clove tea during labor), this essential oil may be helpful to dogs and cats in the week before giving birth. Clove oil is also an effective vermifuge or worm killer.
Three types of clove oil are available: clove bud, clove leaf and clove stem. All three can cause skin and mucous membrane irritation and should be greatly diluted when used topically. Clove bud oil has the lowest eugenol percentage and is the least toxic. All of the clove oils are safe for internal consumption and are widely used flavoring agents.
Like cinnamon, cloves can be added to a pet's food. Use freshly ground cloves for this purpose because the spice's essential oils deteriorate rapidly after grinding. This is why freshly ground cloves smell so different from ground cloves that have been sitting on a shelf for months. The essential oils in whole cloves will dull the plastic parts of your spice grinder (clean it immediately after use with soap and water) and if you fill vegetarian gelatin capsules (Vegicaps) with ground cloves, their essential oil will cause the capsules to shatter within a few days. Regular gelatin capsules will not break.

Подготовка

By water distillation of the buds of E. caryophyllata Thunb. (Fenarolfs Handbook of Flavor Ingredients, 1971).

Cостав эфирных масел

Clove bud oil contains 70 to 90% eugenol, 2 to 17% eugenyl acetate, 5 to 12% α- and β-caryophyllene and traces of caryophyllene epoxide, gallic acid, flavonoids, oleanolic acid, rhamnetin, methyl salicylate, methyl-n-amyl ketone, methyln- heptyl ketone, methyl-n-amyl carbinol, methyl-n-heptyl carbinol, methyl alchohol, methyl benzoate, furfural, α-methyl furfural, furfuryl alchohol, vanillin and possibly β-pinene, valeraldehyde, methyl furfuryl alcohol and dimethyl furfural.*