A tincture of cloves (15% in 70% alcohol) has been reported to be effective in treating ringworms such as athlete's foot. Clove oil has antihistaminic and spasmolytic (musculotropic) properties, the latter probably due to its content of eugenyl acetate (see balm).

Clove oil (due to its eugenol) has anodyne and mildly antiseptic properties, exhibiting broad antimicrobial activities (against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and acid-fast bacteria, and fungi), as well as anthelmintic and larvicidal properties. No data are available that correlate the pharmacological properties of noneugenol clove constituents such as eugenyl acetate, methyl eugenol (see sweet bay), and caryophyllene, which are often present in relatively large amounts in cloves and clove derivatives. Aqueous extracts of cloves, clove oil, eugenol, eugenyl acetate, and methyl eugenol all have trypsin-potentiating activity (see cinnamon).

Eugeniin exhibited strong antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus.