Elsevier

Disease-a-Month

Volume 55, Issue 6, June 2009, Pages 327-335
Disease-a-Month

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum Species)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.disamonth.2009.03.003Get rights and content

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History

Cinnamon has been used as a spice for thousands of years; several references to it are found in the Bible. In Egypt, cinnamon was a spice used in embalming fluid. In Ayurvedic medicine, cinnamon bark was used as an antiemetic, antidiarrheal, antiflatulent, and general stimulant. The Portuguese found cinnamon trees growing in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) during the early 16th century; they subsequently imported cinnamon to Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Dutch occupied Sri Lanka in the

Botanical Description

The genus Cinnamomum comprises over 250 aromatic evergreen trees and shrubs, primarily located in Asia and Australia.

Common Name: Cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon

Scientific Name:Cinnamomum verum J. Presl (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume, Laurus cinnamomum L.)

Botanical Family: Lauraceae (laurel family)

Physical Description: Large evergreen trees with young branches that are smooth and brown. The leaves are opposite, leathery, ovate to broadly ovate with three (and rarely, five) prominent veins. Young leaves

Sources

Cinnamon leaf and bark are spices and sources of cinnamon oil, primarily from the Cinnamomum verum J. Presl (Ceylon cinnamon). However, most of products are extracted from cinnamon trees cultivated at altitudes up to about 1500 ft (460 meters). Cortex cinnamomi is the dried inner bark of shoots from Cinnamomum verum J. Presl or the stripped trunk bark of Cinnamomum cassia Blume. Cinnamomum aromaticum Nees (Chinese cinnamon) is the main source of internationally traded cassia oil, which is a

Chemical Composition

Volatile oils are distilled products from the bark, leaves, flowers, or buds of Cinnamomum species, and the chemical composition of these oils varies depending on the part of the plant used for the distillation process. Cinnamon bark and leaf oil are steam distillation products obtained from the inner bark and leaves, respectively, of Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum).9 Other sources of cinnamon include Japanese cinnamon, Java cinnamon, and Taiwan cinnamon. Most of the chemical constituents of

Toxicokinetics

There are few human toxicokinetic data for the constituents in cinnamon oil. Rodent studies indicate that the major metabolic pathway of o-methoxycinnamaldehyde involves oxidation to the corresponding cinnamic and phenylpropionic acids with subsequent urinary excretion of benzoic and hippuric acids.19

Clinical Response

Most case reports of toxicity from cinnamon oil involve local irritation and allergic reactions to cinnamon oil as a constituent of personal hygiene (toilet soaps, mouthwash, toothpaste, perfumes, mud baths),20 beverages (colas, vermouth, bitters), or baking products.21, 22, 23 Allergic reactions include contact dermatitis, perioral dermatitis, cheilitis, stomatitis, gingivitis, glossitis, chronic lichenoid mucositis, contact urticaria,24 and rarely immediate hypersensitivity reactions (asthma,

Diagnostic Testing

Analytical methods for the identification of the constituents of cinnamon oil include high performance liquid chromatography35 and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.10, 36

Treatment

Treatment is supportive. Patients with leukoplakia after chronic use of cinnamon-containing gums should be observed for resolution after cessation of use. Persistent oral lesions should be evaluated for oral cancer.

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    This article was published in: Barceloux DG. Medical Toxicology of Natural Substances: Foods, Fungi, Medicinal Herbs, Toxic Plants, and Venomous Animals. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. pp. 39-43. Copyright © 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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