Clove oil is a mixture of different compounds, with the three main active ingredients being eugenol, eugenyl acetate and caryophyllene. Jirovetz et al. (2006) found 23 constituents, with eugenol (76.8 %), followed by β-caryophyllene (17.4 %), α-humulene (2.1 %), and eugenyl acetate (1.2 %) as the main components.

Eugenol is the major compound, accounting for at least 50%. The remaining 10-40% consists of eugenyl acetate, β-caryophyllene, and α-humulene