Roxb.
Family: Zingiberaceae.
Habitat: North Bengal and Assam.
English: Bengal Cardamom, Cardamom.
Ayurvedic: Sthula-elaa (var.)
Siddha/Tamil: Perelam.
Folk: Morang-elaaichi.
Action: Similar to that of A. subula- tum.
The seeds yield on essential oil (1.01.2%) containing cineole as the principal constituent.
Chinese practitioners avoid the use of cardamom in conditions marked by symptoms of excessive heat.
(Linn.) Merr. & Perry.
Synonym: Eugenia aromatica Kuntze.
Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb. Caryophyllus aromaticus Linn.
Family: Myrtaceae.
Habitat: Cultivated in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
English: Clove.
Ayurvedic: Lavanga, Devakusum, Devapushpa, Shrisangya, Shripra- suunaka.
Unani: Qaranful, Laung.
Siddha/Tamil: Kiraambu, Lavangam.
Action: Carminative, antiinflammatory, antibacterial. Flower buds—antiemetic, stimulant, carminative. Used in dyspepsia, gastric irritation. Oil—employed as a local analgesic for hypersensitive dent- lines and carious cavaties; internally as a carminative and antispasmodic.
Key application: In inflammatory changes of oral and pharyngeal mucosa; in dentistry; for topical anesthesia. (German Commission E.)
Eugenin, triterpene acids, crategolic acid and steroid glucosides afford anti- inflammatory and antiseptic proper ties to the buds. Eugenol, a major component of the oil, is antibacterial. Acetone extract of clove, eugenol and acetyleugenol possess cholagogue activity. The eugenol and acetyleugenol components of the clove oil inhibit arachidonate-, adrenalin- and collagen- induced platelet aggregation.
Clove terpenes show significant activity as inducers of detoxifying enzyme, glutathione-S-transferase (GST) in mouse liver and intestine and bring about carcinogen detoxification.
Whole cloves might have chemopro- tective activity against liver and bone marrow toxicity. (The Review of Natural Products by Facts and Comparisons, 1999.)
Dosage: Dried flower-bud—0.5-2.0 g powder. (API, Vol. I.)... syzygium aromaticum
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