Cinnamon, a common spice often associated with baking, may have medical benefits as well. Used in Chinese medicine for at least 4,000 years, cinnamon oil contains two ingredients thought to be most responsible for its potential health benefits -- eugenol and cinnamonaldehyde. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a small Asian evergreen tree. Cinnamon oil is more potent than cinnamon bark and can have serious side effects; do not use this for medicinal purposes without first discussing its use with your medical practitioner.
Anti-Diabetic Properties
Several studies have assessed the value of cinnamon on reducing blood glucose levels in diabetics and pre-diabetics. A study published in the December 2003 issue of "Diabetes Care," the magazine of the American Diabetes Association used cinnamon capsules in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The study, reported by lead author Alam Khan, Ph.D., of NWFP Agricultural University in Pakistan, administered three different doses of cinnamon, with three placebo groups receiving the same number of pills. After 40 days, researchers reported a drop in fasting blood glucose of 18 to 29 percent in the cinnamon group and no significant changes in the placebo group. NYU Langone Medical Center reported several problems with this study: First, the placebo group showed no significant changes, which is unusual, since groups taking placebo usually do show some changes, but not as much as the drug-treated group. Second, there were no differences in effect between the three doses given, which is also unusual, NYU Langone states. Other study results have been mixed.
Anti-Cholesterol Effects
The same Pakistani study detailed in the December 2003 "Diabetes Care" reported a decrease in lipid levels along with a decrease in cholesterol in the groups taking cinnamon capsules. Triglyceride levels fell between 23 and 30 percent, while low-density lipoprotein, the "bad" cholesterol, dropped between 7 and 27 percent. Total cholesterol levels dropped 12 to 26 percent, with high-density lipoprotein, the "good" cholesterol, showing no significant difference after treatment.
Gastrointestinal Uses
Cinnamon is approved for use in Germany by Commission E, the organization that oversees herbal supplements, for use in treating stomach problems and improving appetite, but evidence for its effectiveness is weak, NYU Langone states. Animal studies showed slight benefit in using cinnamon oil to treat stomach ulcers, the site also states. Only a few drops of cinnamon oil should be used internally at a time, Commission E suggests, and for no more than a few days at a time. Cinnamon oil is not safe for use in pregnant women at all, the Commission warns.
Anti-Infective Uses
Cinnamon oil has shown promise in laboratory studies as an inhalable vapor against fungi that affect the respiratory tract, according to an Indian study reported in the December 1995 issue of "Allergy." A study reported in the February 1996 issue of "American Journal of Chinese Medicine" by the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Brooklyn, New York found that cinnamon oil improved drug-resistant oral candida in three out of five patients with HIV. Cinnamon oil can cause mouth sores if used chronically, the University of Michigan reports.
References
- NYU Langone Medical Center: Cinnamon
- University of Michigan Medical Center: Cinnamon
- "Diabetes Care:" Cinnamon Improves Glucose and Lipids of People With Type 2 Diabetes ; Alam Khan, Ph.D et al; December 2003
- "American Journal of Chinese Medicine:" In Vitro Activity of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Against Azole Resistant and Sensitive Candida Species and a Pilot Study of Cinnamon for Oral Candidiasis; John Quale; February 1996
- "Allergy:" Cinnamon Bark Oil, a Potent Fungitoxicant Against Fungi Causing Respiratory Tract Mycoses; H.B. Singh; December ,1995
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