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Clove

What the research shows

No concerns

none of the findings here link it to harm

The aromatic flower buds of a tree.

It is commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or fragrance in consumer products such as toothpaste, soaps, or cosmetics.1

What research says

Studies in people

  • Benefit

    Body's natural defences2

    People who ate or drank clove extract daily for a month showed higher levels of the body's own protective enzymes.

Animal and lab studies only

  • Benefit

    Cooking and digestion effects3

    In lab studies, cooking and digestion changed clove's antioxidants, but clove still showed strong anti-inflammatory activity.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

Products

The 6 most-scanned of 4,098 products on Open Food Facts that list clove.

  • Tomato Ketchup Kania · 500 ml, 560 g 0 additives
  • Ravioli vegetariens Carrefour BIO · 650 g 0 additives
  • curry cauliflower bites Holland & Barrett · 171 g 0 additives
  • Geeta's Mango Chutney imp Geeta’s Foods Ltd · 320 g 1 additive
  • Baked beens Freshona · 420 g 2 additives
  • Curry Flavour YumYum · 60 g 12 additives

References

  1. 1Clove. Wikipedia. Accessed September 30, 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0.
  2. 2NM J, RM R, G G, Maliakel B, D S, IM K. Beyond the flavour: a de-flavoured polyphenol rich extract of clove buds (Syzygium aromaticum L) as a novel dietary antioxidant ingredient. Food Funct. 2015;6(10):3373-82. doi:10.1039/c5fo00682a
  3. 3Baker I, Chohan M, Opara EI. Impact of cooking and digestion, in vitro, on the antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammatory activity of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2013;68(4):364-9. doi:10.1007/s11130-013-0379-4