The distinct smell of cloves is a welcome scent in any home. These dried flower buds are from the ygium aromaticum L plant and have not only been used for centuries in culinary dishes.
They’ve also been used in several non-traditional medicines, such as Aromatherapy, Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda for thousands of years.
In preclinical research trials, cloves revealed their true power in their ability to stop the growth of a number of different types of cancer cells.
While we know that cloves are wonderful antibacterial, antifungal and even antiviral, the news that they are also potent anticancer agents is exciting the for the cancer community.
Cloves Stop Cancer Growth!
According to scientists from the University of Minnesota, the University of Pittsburg and China’s Capital Medical University, clove extract stopped the activity and growth of breast, colon, liver and ovarian cancer cells (1).
In the laboratory study, researchers tested numerous types of human cells, both normal and cancerous, including ovarian, cervical, liver, colon, breast, pancreatic and lung cells with various whole clove extracts.
What they discovered was not only did the clove extract halt the growth of the cancerous cells, but it left the normal cells alone to grow unimpeded.
What is amazing about this is that the clove extract was also dose-dependent, meaning the more clove used, the greater the anti-cancer effect it had on the cancerous cells, so researchers were able to specifically point to the clove as the agent responsible for the anti-cancer effects on the cells.
Best Way To Use Clove For Anti-Cancer Effects?
The researchers used many types of extracts but what they found the most effective was one in which the cloves were soaked in a 95 percent alcohol solution for 72 hours at room temperature, after which the whole extract was concentrated into a mixture.
This is also commonly how herbalists make tinctures. Researchers deemed the solution was so effective because the process helped release the active compounds in the cloves that are not necessarily available when simply eaten.
Cloves have been found to have a variety of medicinal compounds — some of which have not yet even been isolated. Of the compounds that have been isolated, researchers identified oleanolic acid and eugenol as the critical anti-cancer agents (2).
Oleanolic Acid
You have probably heard of oleanolic acid before. It’s not the first time it has made headlines as a potent anti-cancer agent.
In fact, in 2013, the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that oleanolic acid was also able to stop the cell cycle of human pancreatic cancer cells.
They also determined that this potent acid could basically impair the function of the cancer cell’s mitochondria and alter its gene cells — essentially changing the actual DNA of the cancer cell.
This is incredible news that can also alter the way we prevent and treat cancer going forward. Another reminder we should never mess with Mother Nature!
Apart from cloves amazing anti-cancer feats, they are also quite effective against many types of infections, including bacterial, viral and those caused by fungi.
They are also effective for pain management, which is why your grandmother may have told you to chew on some cloves when you have a toothache.
They are also known to be helpful for gastrointestinal issues and problems concerning the kidneys and spleen, among many other incredible health benefits.
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