By: Sade Oguntola
Clove is used for upset stomach and as an expectorant. Expectorants make it easier to cough up phlegm. Clove oil is used for diarrhea, hernia, toothache and bad breath. Clove and clove oil are used for intestinal gas, nausea, and vomiting.
Beyond all these, clove oil has promising benefits that may alleviate some symptoms and complications from epilepsy. In a new study, researchers said that administering clove oil inside the nose may help to reduce cognitive deficits, brain cell loss, and severity and duration of seizure in individuals with epilepsy.
It was in the journal, BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies.
Drugs for seizures have been taken through the mouth, or intraperitoneal (the area that contains the abdominal organs) routes. Intranasal (taken through the nose) drug administration is one of the therapeutic methods that has been considered by scientists in recent years.
Nasal drug delivery provides a direct route for drugs to pass through the lining of the nasal passages into the brain bloodstream. Moreover, it bypasses the stomach and the liver. Hence this mode of administering drugs effectively increases drug availability in the blood and cells and so a faster onset of action.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects people of all ages. According to the World Health Organization, globally about 2.4 million people are diagnosed with epilepsy annually. This debilitating neurological disorder is often accompanied by cognitive deficits affecting attention, language, memory, and executive functions and adversely affects the quality of life of the patients and their families.
Although epilepsy is a treatable condition, over 75 percent of the patients from low-income populations around the world do not receive any treatment. Therefore, new antiepileptic medications with high efficacy and a more tolerable side-effect profile need to be developed and made available in low-income countries.
Eugenia caryophyllata is commonly known as clove and its oil is isolated from the buds or leaves. Eugenol is the major component of clove oil present in concentrations of 80 to 90 percent in clove bud oil, and 82 to 88 percent in clove leaf oil. It gives clove its spicy scent and pungent flavor.
The chemical constituents of clove, specifically eugenol, can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, suggesting that these substances might contribute to the effects of clove extracts on the central nervous system and its effectiveness in treating a variety of neurological disorders.
Researchers at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences had evaluated the effectiveness of clove oil administered through intraperitoneal and intranasal passages over 14 days in rats with epilepsy induced with pilocarpine on spatial memory, anxiety, locomotor activity and epileptic seizures.
Different behavioral tests were used to investigate excitability, anxiety, and spatial memory of treated rats with pilocarpine and clove essential oil. Also, the oil was extracted from dried buds and leaves of cloves.
After two weeks of treatment, the most effective reduction in both frequency and duration of seizures was observed in the group that had taken clove oil through the nasal passage at a lower dosage.
The researchers, however, said that more studies are required to clarify the exact mechanism(s) involved in clove oil reducing the frequency and duration of seizures. Also, future studies, including clinical trials, will be needed to explore this potential drug in management of epilepsy and its comorbidities such as depression, anxiety and dementia.
While clove oil is usually safe when applied to the skin, there is need for caution on its repeated use inside the mouth or the nose. Clove oil may not be safe for people with bleeding disorders or people who regularly take blood thinners such as warfarin.
In addition, consuming clove oil can be dangerous for children and may lead to seizures, liver damage, and fluid imbalances. So, it’s important to store it where children and pets can’t get to it.
Pregnant women are advised against using this remedy, as it is not known whether clove oil is safe for the growing baby.
Also, it is important not to drink clove oil or eat clove. Animal studies have shown that ingesting clove oil can lead to liver damage and the thickening and hardening of esophageal and stomach tissue. Gastric ulcers and kidney impairment can also happen.
Previously, researchers said that ginger may be used as supplements to antiepileptic drugs to potentiate their effectiveness with tolerable side effects. Ginger alone did not affect seizure severity but as a supplement with Sodium Valproate, an antiepileptic drug, it can significantly improve learning performance and protected against brain cell loss.
The researchers said that subsequent studies should consider the effect of ginger extract in combination with sodium valproate and other antiepileptic drugs in preventing epileptic attacks and anti-inflammatory actions.
Beyond all these, local herbs and spices identified that could be used to effectively manage neurological disorders like convulsion, epilepsy and seizures include nutmeg, ginger, tetrapleura tetraptera, cowhage, turmeric, thyme, and cannabis.
Tetrapleura tetraptera is locally known as aridan among the Yoruba, osakirisa or oshosho among the Igbo, dawo among the Hausa –all in Nigeria. Commonly called Velvet bean or Cowhage, Mucuna pruriens is known as werepe in Yoruba and agbala or agbaloko in Ibo.
