Clove Bud Extract (Eugenol)

Clove is the dried, unopened flower bud of Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L.M.Perry (Myrtaceae), a tree native to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia and long naturalised in Indian production. Thovek supplies the bud — not the leaf or stem — as a dried extract: buds are cleaned and milled, extracted in water or aqueous ethanol, concentrated and spray-dried, then standardised on eugenol by GC, or supplied as a 4:1 or 10:1 native concentrate where the whole-bud profile matters more than a marker figure. A separate liquid grade of isolated eugenol at NLT 98% by GC is quoted as its own line item. One physical fact settles a great deal of specification confusion at the enquiry stage: eugenol melts at −9.2 to −9.1 °C and boils at 252–253 °C at 760 mmHg, so it is a liquid at ambient temperature. Nothing sold as a free-flowing 'eugenol powder' is neat eugenol. It is either a clove extract standardised to a stated eugenol figure or eugenol adsorbed or encapsulated onto a carrier, and those two answer to different specifications, different prices and different tariff headings. Eugenol (CAS 97-53-0, C10H12O2, molecular weight 164.20, IUPAC 2-methoxy-4-prop-2-enylphenol) is the compound the whole trade is priced around. It is a clear colourless to pale yellow or amber liquid with the odour of cloves, density 1.0652 g/cm3 at 20 °C, refractive index 1.5405 at 20 °C/D, water solubility 2460 mg/L at 25 °C and a closed-cup flash point above 100 °C; one millilitre dissolves in two millilitres of 70% alcohol. Literature places eugenol at 72–90% of clove essential oil, and the figure moves with the plant part: bud oil is reported at 60–90%, leaf oil 70–82% and stem oil 85–92%. Beta-caryophyllene (CAS 87-44-5, C15H24, molecular weight 204.35) and eugenyl acetate are the principal co-constituents. Two commercial cautions follow. First, an oil percentage is not an extract percentage: a bud oil at 85% eugenol and a dry bud extract at 15% eugenol are entirely different materials, and offers are only comparable once both state the matrix and the method. Second, the eugenol figure on a dry extract is method-sensitive, so Thovek quotes GC-FID or GC-MS against a eugenol reference standard and will state the chromatographic conditions on request. Regulatory position is unusually well defined for a spice derivative and buyers should read it before formulating. In the United States, 21 CFR 184.1257 covers clove essential oils (clove oil CAS 8000-34-8, clove leaf oil CAS 8015-97-2), eugenol (CAS 97-53-0), oleoresins and natural extractives, listing the source under the older name Eugenia caryophyllata Thunberg, a synonym of Syzygium aromaticum. Eugenol is also subject to restriction in perfumery under IFRA standards, and reports of contact sensitisation exist from dental use although the literature disagrees on how allergenic it is; treat it as a restricted flavour and fragrance material, handle the neat isolate with gloves and eye protection, and confirm the concentration limit that applies in your own market and product category. The extract is used in oral-care and confectionery flavour systems, in savoury and bakery seasoning, and in food-technology work on the oxidative stability of fats and oils, where the phenolic fraction is the functional part. Every lot is released against GC assay, ICP-MS heavy metals, pesticide residues, aflatoxins and ochratoxin A and full microbiology. Material is vegan and vegetarian with no milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, gluten, peanut, tree nut, sesame, mustard or celery input and no animal-derived processing aid; organic (NPOP / NOP / EU) lots ship with a transaction certificate.