Cinnamon has been used
since remote antiquity as a spice, a food preservative and a medicine. The kind
we usually buy is Cassia Cinnamon - the bark of a tree grown mainly in China
and Indonesia. Cinnamon from Sri
Lanka – so called Ceylon Cinnamon, is more expensive; it is prized for its
flavor and its low content of a substance called coumarin. Coumarin is a fragrant chemical
compound found in many plants. In
high doses it may be toxic to the liver, and may have anticoagulant
properties. Cassia cinnamon has
more coumarin, while Ceylon cinnamon has very little. This is not a problem for most people, using cinnamon as a
flavoring in the kitchen. People
with liver disease or on anticogulants should not use large amounts of Cassia
cinnamon as a medicine.
Colorectal
Cancer – in mice: Adding cinnamaldehyde, the compound
that gives cinnamon its distinctive flavor and smell, to the diet of mice,
scientists at the University of Arizona found that mice were protected against
colorectal cancer. In response to cinnamaldehyde, the animals'
cells acquired the ability to protect themselves against exposure to a carcinogen
through detoxification and repair.
The study appeared in Cancer
Prevention Research in 2015.
The next step in the
research is to test whether cinnamon, as opposed to cinnamaldehyde, prevents
cancer using this same cancer model.
Human studies have not
been reported
Polycystic
Ovary Syndrome: Women with this problem have enlarged ovaries
with multiple cysts, infrequent menstrual periods, excess hair growth and
sometimes obesity. Previous
research has shown that the use of cinnamon can reduce insulin resistance in
women with PCOS. Researchers from
Columbia University enrolled 45 women with PCOS into a 6 month trial; those who
received cinnamon had more regular menstrual cycles than women who were given
placebo. The cinnamon group had 3.82 menstrual cycles during the 6 month trial,
while women in the control group only had 2.2 cycles. Two of the women in the
treatment group reported spontaneous pregnancies during the trial. "Though
small, this rather elegant study shows that cinnamon may be an effective and
inexpensive treatment for PCOS patients," said Steven T. Nakajima, MD,
President of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. He is currently at Stanford.
Parkinson’s
Disease – Study in mice:
Scientist at Rush University Medical Center used cinnamon to treat the brain
changes in mice with Parkinson’s disease (Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology,
2014). The study, supported by grants from National Institutes of Health, found
that after oral feeding, ground Ceylon cinnamon was metabolized into sodium
benzoate, which entered the brain, stopped the loss of important neurons,
normalized neurotransmitter levels, and improved motor functions in mice with
PD. The researchers hope to translate their findings into human
studies.
Cinnamon in type 2 Diabetes: Cinnamon has been said to lower blood sugar
levels, but studies showing this effect have been small, with conflicting
results. Researchers at the
College of Pharmacy, Western University of Health Sciences, looked at all
published studies in a systematic review of cinnamon’s effect on blood sugar
and lipid levels. They found that
the consumption of cinnamon in various trials resulted in a statistically significant decrease in levels of fasting
plasma glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglyceride levels, and an
increase in HDL-C levels; however, no significant effect on hemoglobin A1c was
found. They concluded that the variability found in these studies may limit the
ability to apply these results to patient care, because the preferred dose and
duration of therapy are unclear.
Writing this column made me want to
investigate the properties of Ceylon cinnamon. It is available for about $15 on the internet – for ½ pound,
which should last a long time. You
can find 2 ounces for less than $5.
Whichever kind you use, think of the long past history of this spice –Egyptians
used it for enbalming in 2000 BCE; Nero burned it on the pyre of his second
wife to atone for his role in her death; Arab traders brought it to Europe, Portuguese
and Dutch traders fought over Ceylon.
Sadja Greenwood MD, MPH - back issues on this blog
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