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April 2009-- An overview of the potential health benefits of cinnamon, funded by the McCormick Science Institute. An evaluation of the research is presented. Read the entire study (PDF)
MSI Funded Paper:
Potential Health Benefits of Cinnamon
Singletary, K
Cinnamon is a spice that has been used for thousands of years both for its enhancement of taste and for its potential medicinal benefits. It has a history of use for medicinal purposes as far back as China in the third millennium BC, ancient Egypt, and medieval Europe. It is derived from the brown bark of the cinnamon tree and comes in 2 principal varieties, Chinese and Ceylon.
The purported health benefits from cinnamon have been linked to a variety of constituents. The scientific literature provides emerging evidence that cinnamon may have health benefits, particularly in improving problematic blood glucose regulation that is a consequence of type 2 diabetes and obesity.
A brief summary of potential health benefits, and suggestions for future research are presented in this study.
| An evaluation of the quality of the scientific research is presented below: |
Rating[1] |
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Antidiabetic agent
Preclinical animal studies provide evidence that constituents of cinnamon may decrease blood glucose and insulin levels both in rats genetically predisposed to diabetes and in rats given high doses of sugars.5Y8 Evidence for an antidiabetic action of cinnamon components in humans is inconsistent but suggestive of a possible modest action in lowering blood glucose levels (Table 2).(1,9-20) It should be noted that in 2 studies, cinnamon ingestion improved in vivo glucose tolerance in healthy human subjects.(15,16) Specific constituents of cinnamon responsible for any antidiabetic effect remain to be identified.(21-23) Several agents such as cinnamaldehyde and polyphenolic polymers have been proposed as putative active factors. A meta-analysis and 3 recent reviews have evaluated the evidence for this potential health benefit.(1,17,19,20) This antidiabetic action of cinnamon clearly warrants further study, and the basis for inconsistencies among studies needs to be resolved.
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E |
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Cholesterol-lowering actions
Human trials of cinnamon extract do not consistently demonstrate a benefit in lowering diabetes-associated blood cholesterol levels or improving blood lipid profiles.(9-11,19,20)
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P |
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Blood pressure-lowering effect
Cinnamon lowered sugar-induced blood pressure increase in one study of rats predisposed to hypertension.(24) Further study of this action of cinnamon is needed.
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P |
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Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects
Antioxidant components of cinnamon have been identified. There are several reports using cell culture models and an experiment in rats demonstrating that cinnamon and cinnamaldehyde have antioxidant activity and scavenge free radicals.(20,25-27) There is very limited evidence that cinnamon and cinnamaldehyde have immunomodulatory properties and can suppress inflammation processes.(20,28,29) There are few reports of cinnamon being effective as an antioxidant or anti-inflammatory agent in humans.(20)
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P |
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Antimicrobial properties
There are a number of reports in cell culture studies indicating that cinnamon can inhibit the growth of bacteria associated with food contamination and human infections.(20,27) There is a lack of evidence of an antimicrobial benefit in humans. One trial evaluated cinnamon for its capacity to inhibit the bacterium associated with stomach ulcers and demonstrated no benefit.(30)
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P |
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Anticancer actions
There is very limited scientific information pointing to a cancer-protective benefit of cinnamon components.(20,31,32)
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P |
[1] Key to grades
S: Strong, convincing evidence
E: Emerging, suggestive evidence
P: Preliminary, inconclusive evidence
Reference
Singletary, K. Cinnamon: Overview of Health Benefits. Nutrition Today. 2008 November/December: 43(6): 263-266. Read the entire study (PDF)
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