Products
Cinnamon is commercially available, among other things, as a spice, as a medicinal drug, tea and in the form of capsules as a dietary supplement. It is found in remedies for digestion such as Carmol, Klosterfrau Melissengeist and in Zeller Balsam. Cinnamon is also a component of traditional pharmaceutical preparations such as aromatic tincture or laudanum (opium tincture).
Stem plants
For Ceylon cinnamon: The true cinnamon tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae) is an evergreen tree native to Sri Lanka. It is also known as the Ceylon cinnamon tree and. For cassia cinnamon: a second important parent plant is the Chinese cinnamon tree (= ).
Medicinal drug
The cinnamon bark (Cinnamomi cortex) is primarily used as a medicinal raw material. According to the European Pharmacopoeia, it consists of the dried bark, freed from the outer cork and the underlying parenchyma, of young shoots growing on cut-back canes of . This is Ceylon cinnamon.
Ingredients
Cinnamon contains essential oil (Cinnamomi aetheroleum) with the main component –cinnamaldehyde. The oil of the Ceylon cinnamon tree contains more eugenol and only a little coumarin. Coumarin is mainly found in the oil of the Chinese cinnamon tree. Other constituents include phenolic carboxylic acids, tannins and carbohydrates.
Effects
Cinnamon has antibacterial, antifungal, carminative, motility-enhancing, and antispasmodic properties. In various studies, cinnamon has been shown to lower blood glucose, LDL-C, and triglycerides and increase HDL-C. The effects are predominantly attributed to the cinnamaldehyde. Thus, the question arises whether cinnamon can also be used as an antidiabetic or lipid-lowering agent. However, according to a 2012 Cochrane review and other publications, the scientific data are insufficient (e.g., Leach, Kumar, 2012).
Areas of application
- Cinnamon is mainly used as a spice and is particularly found in gingerbread, cinnamon stars, spice cake, mulled wine and gastric bread.
- It is also used for gastrointestinal complaints, for example, abdominal pain, abdominal cramps, flatulence and bloating.
- For lack of appetite.
- The use in diabetes mellitus is discussed, but is insufficiently studied scientifically (see above).
- Cinnamon is used in traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine.
Dosage
According to the manufacturer’s instructions. For tea can be prepared up to four times a day 1 g of medicinal drug with hot water (adults).
Contraindications
Cinnamon is contraindicated in case of hypersensitivity, gastric or intestinal ulcers and during pregnancy. Other precautions apply to the essential oil. We do not have complete information.
Adverse effects
Possible adverse effects include allergic reactions, for example, even when chewing a cinnamon gum. Preparations and foods containing cassia cinnamon should not be consumed excessively and over a long period of time because the coumarin it contains can cause adverse effects in higher doses. Among other things, coumarin is toxic to the liver and can cause hepatitis. Ceylon cinnamon contains little coumarin and is therefore considered tolerable.
