Eugenol Health Benefits

Eugenol is a compound produced by plants in large amounts and is revered for its benefits on health, but also its use in cosmetic fragrance products. This is a phenolic and naturally occurring essential oil.

Many different plants produce eugenol including basil, cinnamon and cloves. It is one of the main biological plant compounds in cloves and is responsible for the fruity fragrance of cloves. Clove, or Syzygium aromaticum, is a really valuable spice that has been around for many centuries. In many cultures it is used as a natural preservative.  

You can find eugenol in the highest concentrations in cloves and clove essential oil. Eugenol is generally extracted from clove leaves and clove buds. In clove essential oil, eugenol concentrations are at around 85%. Cloves are a popular cooking spice used in the cooking of various curries and other culinary dishes across the globe. Clove oil is also used as a natural flavouring or enhancer in many countries.

Eugenol also is included in some natural dental and oral hygiene products and has localised anaesthetic properties. In medicine it has also been used as a pain-relieving compound, while also having anti-septic qualities.

Eugenol is also thought to be a mild anti-inflammatory compound in the right quantities. Let’s take an in-depth look at eugenol and the properties of this plant compound that might provide health benefits.

Antioxidant Benefits Of Eugenol

Clove oil has been demonstrated to possess a high level of antioxidant protective action against highly damaging free radicals verses other antioxidants. Plant phytochemicals such as eugenol play a massive part of the antioxidant potential of cloves as free radical scavengers. For this reason, eugenol is used as a food preservative. The antioxidant effects of eugenol ranked at least as high as alpha-tocopherol, or vitamin E. Eugenol was also seen to help the inflammation response in the lungs through the downregulation of inflammatory cytokines.

The phenolic chemical eugenol, found in large amounts in clove oil, prevents free radical damage through antioxidant action. Studies with eugenol suggest it may have benefits as an anti-inflammatory during infections as well.

Eugenol can prevent harmful damage and mutation to DNA or other structures that can lead to cancers. Some scientists have studied eugenol in relation to cancer, observing that eugenol naturally prevents colon cancer, while having minimal toxic or detrimental properties. One study showed that eugenol had chemopreventative effects on DNA damage.

Antimicrobial Properties & Benefits Of Eugenol

Clove plant essential oils are known for their antimicrobial properties, while eugenol is thought to be responsible for much of this activity. Even at low concentrations, clove oil has good microbial growth inhibiting properties. Eugenol has a signature -OH group that gives it pungent antimicrobial properties. Plant phenols like eugenol are renowned for their antimicrobial properties, clove represents one of the richest known sources of phenolic compounds. This compound has been used to treat skin infections as well when diluted.

This plant compound really cuts through bacterial membranes, causing damaging changes to their structures. Eugenol can also inhibit bacterial cell protease functions, distorting important bacterial cell functions. This plant phenol literally causes gram-negative bacterial cells to leak. These effects have been observed against some highly pathogenic bacteria, including Salmonella typhi. Eugenol has been observed to have other antimicrobial effects, including against Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus.

In addition, eugenol is a frequently used plant chemical in dentistry to eliminate bacteria. Eugenol might therefore have health benefits in terms of being a mild anti-microbial, that could support with preventative immune support against pathogens.

Antifungal & Anti-Viral Properties

There is evidence to suggest that clove oils, rich in eugenol, might also have health benefits as an anti-fungal. They seemed to cause fungal spores to burst on contact. Clove oil has also been used topically, with success, in the treatment of fungal candida. This includes the treatment of oral candida funguses. Eugenol might also have antiviral properties after research showed it could successfully treat particular herpes strains. It seemed to inhibit viral DNA synthesis.

Some scientists believe that cloves could also have larvicidal properties. This could present some additional health benefits to consuming cloves, that are rich in eugenol. In Brazil, clove oil has been used topically to try to treat dengue.

Eugenol has also effectively been formulated into a topical skin cream. It shows promise as a topical skin cream that might be able to help improve the outcomes of contact dermatitis because of its anti-inflammatory properties. The described anti-oxidant, anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties of eugenol might also then be applicable to the skin.

This would present an exciting development in maintaining optimum skin health, with a range of possibilities in the natural skin care industry. Because of its unique properties, eugenol might also be applicable to use as a treatment for acne but this is still being investigated.

Another exciting development is the use of clove oil for wound healing and cleansing. One study showed that wound healing, including collagen formation, was improved with topical clove oil use. This is quite an interesting potential application for eugenol. This is specific to animals so far and would need to be researched in humans too.

Eugenol In Natural Dental Products

Eugenol might have uses in the prevention of microbial build up related to dental hygiene too. Many of its antimicrobial effects are relatable to dental hygiene. This phenolic compound is used frequently in dentistry too.

One particular study found that eugenol might be promising as an inhibitor of dental caries, at the right concentrations. The synergistic activity of eugenol with another essential oil had a higher microbial inhibiting effect than one well used antibiotic. This sort of research justifies their inclusion in natural dental hygiene products. Eugenol may be able to replace synthetic alternatives in some dental products for the management of oral infections.

Side Effects Of Eugenol

The World Health Organization has designated and classified eugenol as a generally accepted plant chemical substance. Toxicological studies estimate a safe range for the use of cloves is up to 2.5 mg/kg body weight in people, as established by the World Health Organization. Eugenol itself is considered safe to use as a food additive.

Conclusions

Clove is used as a food flavouring and spice across the world in various cuisines. Clove oils are used in fragrances and is also used as a food preservative. Oil from cloves is rich in eugenol, a phenolic phytochemical, that seems to have demonstratable antioxidant properties.

Eugenol has also been observed to possess antimicrobial properties, cutting through gram negative bacterial cell membranes and inhibiting key bacterial enzymes. Eugenol has been observed to inhibit certain pathogenic bacteria including Salmonella typhi.

It might also have anti-viral and anti-fungal properties after being shown to inhibit the growth or replication of viruses and fungi. This plant phenol has also been used experimentally against dengue as a larvicidal formulation. The anti-microbial activities of eugenol in the mouth shows its inclusion in dental hygiene products is justified.

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