JUNE/JULY 2003 Cinnamon - Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinnamomum cassia
Continuing in the ‘Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food' (Hippocrates) series (See Ginger, Garlic and Turmeric) Written by Isla Burgess
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The Old Ways
I could relate the already well recorded tales, both ‘tall' and ‘short', of birds nests falling from trees providing the harvest of cinnamon sticks, of bats protecting their Cassia trees, attacking any who dare to take any of the branches, of the God Dionysos and his city of Nosa where cinnamon trees flourish,1 of women of pleasure who compound cinnamon with aloes and myrrh to entice a youthful passer by, but instead I invite you to take a small piece of cinnamon bark, close your eyes, place it in your mouth and chew between your top and bottom two teeth and the tip of your tongue and prepare for a journey so full of taste sensations that you are left wanting more……At first almost Eucalyptus-like, then the more spicy taste that we recognize as cinnamon, then sweet, drying, a little numbing to the tongue and HOT, there is bitter as well…and do I detect the slight hint of blackberry?
Just a few minutes and already we know so much about this plant. It is hot and drying, a perfect medicine for the person with a damp and cold condition such as the common cold, lung and nasal congestion, poor digestion accompanied by cold or clammy skin.
Cinnamon and its close relative Cassia are a medicine in many healing traditions.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Cinnamomum cassia was and is used in TCM with properties described as acrid, sweet and hot. Bensky and Gamble 2 describe its actions as ‘Warms the kidneys and fortifies the yang: for a wide variety of problems due to insufficiency of Kidney yang and waning of the gate of vitality. Common manifestations include aversion to cold, cold limbs, weak back, impotence, frequent urination………flushed face, wheezing, severe sweating…….where upper body is hot and lower cold. Disperses deep cold'.
Ayurveda
Frawley and Lad 3 describe Cinnamomum zeylanicum as pungent, sweet, astringent/heating/sweet, with indications, colds, sinus congestion, bronchitis, dyspepsia. They describe it as aggravating to those with a Pitta constitution (already hot and fiery) and relieving those of excess Kapha (excess water and cold).
Humours
The origins of the Humoral theory are lost in the mists of time but references are found in the works of Hippocrates, Avicenna, Hildegard, Shakespeare, Culpepper and more recently Elizabeth Brooke, Ruth Trickey and in detail in ‘The Traditional Healers handbook' by Hakim G.M. Chisti. Cinnamon would most certainly be placed in the ‘Hot and Dry' category exacerbating ‘Choleric' humors (hot and dry) and reducing ‘Phlegmatic' (Cold and moist).
Wise Woman
If you tasted the plant as described above then you already are familiar with this tradition. The ‘Wise women' knew about plants, mostly from spending time with them, and while there are some philosophical overlays basically the taste gave us the foundation for the indications in the other traditions. What would this plants effect be on circulation? On digestion? What is the difference between an infusion, an infused oil, a tincture, the difference between C zeylanicum and C cassia. Try it for yourself and see?
Just plain Scientific.
This is reviewed below under ‘Research Review'
Other ancient uses include aphrodisiac, (The Thousand and One Nights), in the once famous Four Official Capitals, ‘amazing concoctions of numerous drugs' that once played an important part in medical practice. They included antidotes for poisons, and protection from the plague. 4
The New Ways
As we know today cinnamon is widely used as a culinary spice. Medicinally its use in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda continues and it is also used by Western trained herbalists.
A classical Ayurvedic text, describes its use in mouthwashes, for certain types of headaches, for poisoness spider bites and cough. 5 In TCM it is the second most widely used warming stimulant.
In Western herbal medicine the extract is used for weak digestion and during convalescence (carminative and stimulant), colds (warming), to increase circulation (warming), to reduce diarrhoea (astringent) and as an antiseptic.
It could possibly be used for the treatment of Candida albicans (See Research Review).
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What Plant?
Both trees belong to the Lauraceae family and are therefore related to Bay (Laurus nobilis)
Cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylanicum, aromaticum, is a native of Sri Lanka and Southern India and cultivated in other parts of Asia. It can grow to 50 feet but is coppiced to 8 feet for harvest. This is considered the finer spice, lighter and less oily. The dried inner bark is yellowish brown.
Cinnamomum cassia, from China, is often sold as cinnamon, is less expensive and the inner bark is more reddish-brown. It is a ‘heavier' spice and more oily.
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What Part?
Quills are obtained by the careful removal of the outer bark and inside pulp. Pieces for the outside are selected and others packed in the center. There are several grades. Often Cinnamomum cassia, is sold as whole pieces with the outer bark attached.
How and When to use?
Cinnamon can be used as a powder, in an infusion, as a tincture or fluid extract, as an infused or essential oil and in a vinegar.
Cinnamon infusion could be used to improve digestion or circulation, the infused oil as a liniment for muscle stiffness or in the bath as a circulatory stimulant and the tincture/extract to make other medicines taste better as well as for colds, congestion etc.
How To Prepare
Cinnamon infusions
To a cupful of boiling water, add 1 tsp of the powder.
Cover and infuse for 10 mins.
Cinnamon baths
Add a tbsp of infused oil or two to three drops of essential oil.
Cinnamon tincture 1:5
100 gm of powder
500mls 60-70% alcohol.
Mix the cinnamon with the alcohol and macerate for 10 to 28 days. Press out.
Cinnamon oil
Mix enough almond oil with the powdered Cinnamon to allow for a two cm (1/2 inch) layer of oil on top. Leave 10 days in a warm place. Stir often. Strain.
Four thieves vinegar
Said to have protected the people who robbed the houses of plague victims (Marselilles 1722) but makes an excellent household antiseptic.
Infuse garlic, lavender flowers, mint, rosemary, rue, sage, wormwood, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a jar of vinegar. Leave several weeks and if possible add a little camphor.
How Much To Use?
Infusion
1 cup 2-3 times daily
Tincture/extract
6mls per day in divided doses
Safety
Any normal use in cooking during pregnancy is fine but extract use should be kept to a low dose as cinnamon may have slight emmenagogic effects (slightly stimulating to the uterus). It could possibly exacerbate acid reflux due to its carminative action. Essential oil is toxic internally.
Recent Research Reviews
Mostly the Research focuses on the anti-fungal and anti-bacterial action of cinnamon demonstrating activity for both. 12,13,14,15,16 the focus being for use in commerce.
Its value as a dietary antioxidant is demonstrated 17,18,19 with one study for and against its use in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori.20,21
Although its use to lower blood sugar levels appears to be in common knowledge there is little in the recent literature to support this. In one study 49 herbs and spices were tested and cinnamon was the most active. 22
Statistics
In 1921, Sri Lanka exported 1486 tons of cinnamon quills and 657 tons of chips. It is hard to obtain more recent stats
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References
1. Swahn J.O. The Lore of Spices. Nordbok 1991
2. Bensky D., Gamble A. Materia Medica. Chinese Herbal Medicine. Rev Ed. Eastland Press, 1993.
3. Frawley D., Lad V. The Yoga of Herbs. 2nd Ed. Lotus Press, 1988.
4. Redgrove, H.S. Spices and Condiments. Pitman and Sons, 1933.
5. Sharma PV, Classical Uses of Medicinal Plants, Chaukhambha Bharati Academy, Varanasi, 1996.
6. Burgess IM. Weeds Heal. A Working Herbal. Viriditas Publishing.NZ 1998.
7. Heinerman J Healing Herbs and Spices. Parker Publishing Co. 1966
8. Chevallier A. Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley, 2001
9. Painter G. Power E. The Herb Garden Displayed. Hodder and Stoughton. 1978
10. Brinker F. Herb Contraindications and Drug Interactions.3rd Edition. Eclectic Medical Publications, USA, 2001.
11. Patnaik Naveen, The Garden of Life. HarperCollins 1993
12. Guynot ME, Ramos AJ, Seto L, Purroy P, Sanchis V, Marin S. Antifungal activity of volatile compounds generated byessential oils against fungi commonly causing deterioration of bakery products.J Appl Microbiol 2003;94(5):893-9
13. Kalemba D, Kunicka A. Antibacterial and antifungal properties of essential oils Curr Med Chem 2003 May;10(10):813-29
14. Ranasinghe L, Jayawardena B, Abeywickrama K. Fungicidal activity of essential oils of Cinnamomum zeylanicum (L.) and Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr et L.M.Perry against crown rot and anthracnose pathogen isolated from banana.Lett Appl Microbiol 2002;35(3):208-11
15. Soliman KM, Badeaa RI.Effect of oil extracted from some medicinal plants on different mycotoxigenic fungi. Food Chem Toxicol 2002 Nov;40(11):1669-75
16. Mau J, Chen C, Hsieh P. Antimicrobial effect of extracts from Chinese chive, cinnamon, and corni fructus.J Agric Food Chem 2001 Jan;49(1):183-8
17. Dragland S, Senoo H, Wake K, Holte K, Blomhoff R. Several culinary and medicinal herbs are important source of dietary antioxidants.J Nutr 2003 May;133(5):1286-90
18. Nair S, Nagar R, Gupta R.Antioxidant phenolics and flavonoids in common India foods.J Assoc Physicians India 1998 Aug;46 (8):708-10
19. Mancini-Filho J, Van-Koiij A, Mancini DA, Cozzolino FF, Torres Antioxidant activity of cinnamon (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Breyne) extracts.Boll Chim Farm 1998 Dec;137(11):443-7
20. Nir Y, Potasman I, Stermer E, Tabak M, Neeman I.Controlled trial of the effect of cinnamon extract on Helicobacter pylori.Helicobacter 2000 Jun;5(2):94-7
21. Tabak M, Armon R, Neeman I.Cinnamon extracts' inhibitory effect on Helicobacter pylori J Ethnopharmacol 1999 Nov 30;67(3):269-77
22. Broadhurst CL, Polansky MM, Anderson RA.Insulin-like biological activity of culinary and medicinal aqueous extracts in vitro.J Agric Food Chem 2000 Mar;48(3):849-
Reflections
I think there is enough written about cinnamon to include extracts in the clinical treatment formulas for treating people with intestinal dysbiosis, vaginal Candida albicans, Helicobacter pylori and as a dietary anti-oxidant. Two anti-oxidant powders could be used, one to add to savoury dishes and one for sweet.
For the savoury, a mix of dried and powdered thyme, sage, selfheal with a little kelp and for the sweet, cinnamon, rosemary and citrus peel.
So what is the difference between a herb and spice?
According to Colin Dence;
A herb grows in temperate climates and can be grown easily in gardens. With some exceptions mostly leaves and flowers are used.
A spice is the bark, root/rhizome, fruit or seed of tropical plants, often trees.
He gives a third class – aromatic seeds. For example, dill, fennel, coriander.
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