Dingxiang (Clove) dīng xiāng · 丁香

Safety. The name is the first hazard: the clove of the materia medica is the dried flower bud of Syzygium aromaticum, while the ornamental lilac of northern gardens is also called ding xiang in Chinese and is not the same plant. The oil is the second: eugenol is caustic in concentrated form and undiluted clove oil burns the mouth and gums rather than soothing them, and swallowing it has caused liver injury and seizures in small children. Clove oil also slows blood clotting in laboratory work, so anyone on anticoagulants or awaiting surgery should raise it with a doctor. Warm and drying, it is classically avoided where there is heat or depleted Yin, and safety in pregnancy at medicinal amounts is not established. No amount is given here.