Benefits of Clove

Clove is a dried flower bud of the tree Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen plant growing in tropical and subtropical areas. It has been used for thousands of years in India and China not only as a spice but also for its multiple medicinal values. Below is the list of the medicinal values of clove, we bet you didn't know all of them:

Digestion: Cloves are said to improve the process of digestion by improving the secretion of gastric juices. Cloves also are said to reduce flatulence, gastric irritability, dyspepsia and nausea.

Anti-carcinogenic activity: Lab studies have shown that clove can help in controlling lung cancer. Clove infusion fed to mice led to downregulation of proteins responsible for the proliferation of cancer cells, highlighting clove's anti-proliferative properties.

Antibacterial property: Cloves have antibacterial property and have been found to be effective against many bacteria. Clove oil is known for controlling oral pathogens and famed for its painkilling action.

Diabetes control: Research in mice has shown that cloves imitate insulin in few ways that help in controlling blood sugar levels. The researchers concluded that consumption of specific plant-based diets might have beneficial effects for diabetes treatment and indicate the plausible role for clove-derived compounds as insulin-mimetic agents.

Liver protection: Liver metabolism, in the long run, leads to a rise in free radicals production and decreases the antioxidants present there. Cloves contain high amounts of antioxidants, which protect the organs from the effects of free radicals and mainly reported to benefit the liver.

Bone preservation: The hydro-alcoholic extracts of the clove contain phenolic compounds like eugenol, flavones, isoflavones and flavonoids. Such extracts have been reported to be helpful in saving the bone density and mineral content of the bone, the main reasons behind osteoporosis, under lab conditions.

Boost the immune system: Cloves contain compounds that help in improving the immune system by increasing the count of white blood cells, thereby improving hypersensitivity (undesirable responses produced by the immune system) reactions in the laboratory studies.