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| Parts used: Flower buds, essential oil. |
| Actions: Mild anesthetic, anodyne, anti-emetic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, warming stimulant. |
| Uses: Clove oil is available from many pharmacies and is useful as an emergency first aid remedy for toothache (put a few drops on a cotton swab and place on the gum nearest to the aching tooth). Cloves are useful for disguising the taste of more unpleasant herbs, so a couple of the dried flower buds added to an herbal mixture for stomach upsets or chills can often make the brew more palatable. In many parts of the East, clove oil is also used for abdominal massage during labor to encourage contractions and ease pain. Drinking teas flavored with plenty of cloves during the second stage of labor can help ease childbirth pains. |
| Caution: Cloves should be reserved for labor and childbirth and not taken earlier in pregnancy. |
| Coffee (Coffea Arabica) |
| Originally grown in Ethiopia, coffee production spread throughout the Arab world, reached Western Europe in the 17th century, and was then introduced into South America by settlers. It is now one of the world's most important cash crops. Millions drink cups of it every day, and an entire industry has emerged to produce the necessary equipment for processingpercolators, espresso machines, filters, and the like. |
| Parts used: Beans. |
| Actions: Anti-emetic, antinarcotic, diuretic, stimulant. |
| Uses: Coffee's best known medicinal action is as a stimulant; it is rich in caffeine (3 parts per 1,000), which stimulates the central nervous system and increases the heart rate. This in turn speeds blood flow through the kidneys, which explains coffee's mild diuretic action. |
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