Cinnamon

Cinnamon (<img src="/ffa546dc-ee58-51fb-a13b-64dddc5b7f73.png"/> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >ˈsɪnəmən</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pronunciation_respelling_key" title="Wikipedia:Pronunciation respelling key" >sin-ə-mən</a>) is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice" title="Spice" >spice</a> obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamomum" title="Cinnamomum" >Cinnamomum</a> that is used in both sweet and savoury foods. While native only to the island of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka" title="Sri Lanka" >Sri Lanka</a>, cinnamon trees are now naturalized in South East Asia.[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" >citation needed</a>]

<h2 >Medicinal value</h2>

<h3 >[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cinnamon&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Research" >edit</a>]Research</h3>

In a 2000 study published in <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.icmr.nic.in/ijmr/ijmr.htm" >The Indian Journal of Medical Research</a>, it was shown that of the 69 plant species screened, 16 were effective against HIV-1 and 4 were against both HIV-1 and HIV-2. The most effective extracts against HIV-1 and HIV-2 were respectively Cinnamomum cassia (bark) and Cardiospermum helicacabum (shoot + fruit).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#cite_note-29" >[30]</a>

The compound <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenol" title="Eugenol" >eugenol</a>, a major component of the essential oil from the leaves of the cinnamon tree, has antiviral properties <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro" title="In vitro" >in vitro</a>, specifically against both the HSV-1 and HSV-2 (Oral and Genital Herpes) viruses according to a study published in the journal, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytotherapy_Research" title="Phytotherapy Research" >Phytotherapy Research</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#cite_note-30" >[31]</a>

A 2003 study at National Institutes of Health shows benefits of cinnamon in diet of type 2 diabetics. "Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#cite_note-31" >[32]</a>

A study conducted in 2007 and published in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_of_Medicinal_Chemistry" title="Journal of Medicinal Chemistry" >Journal of Medicinal Chemistry</a> suggests that specific plant terpenoids contained within cinnamon have potent antiviral properties.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#cite_note-32" >[33]</a>

Pharmacological experiments suggest that the cinnamon-derived <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_and_cancer" title="Diet and cancer" >dietary factor</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamic_aldehyde" title="Cinnamic aldehyde" class="mw-redirect" >cinnamic aldehyde</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamaldehyde" title="Cinnamaldehyde" >cinnamaldehyde</a>) activates the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nrf2" title="Nrf2" class="mw-redirect" >Nrf2</a>-dependent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidant" title="Antioxidant" >antioxidant</a> response in human<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epithelial" title="Epithelial" class="mw-redirect" >epithelial</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_(anatomy)" title="Colon (anatomy)" >colon</a> cells and may therefore represent an experimental <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemopreventive" title="Chemopreventive" class="mw-redirect" >chemopreventive</a> dietary factor targeting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorectal" title="Colorectal" class="mw-redirect" >colorectal</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinogenesis" title="Carcinogenesis" >carcinogenesis</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#cite_note-33" >[34]</a>

Recent research documents anti-melanoma activity of cinnamic aldehyde observed in cell culture and a mouse model of human melanoma.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#cite_note-pmid19000754-34" >[35]</a>

Cinnamon bark, a component of the traditional Japanese medicine Mao-to, has been shown in a 2008 study published in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_of_General_Virology" title="Journal of General Virology" >Journal of General Virology</a> to have an antiviral therapeutic effect.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#cite_note-35" >[36]</a>

A 2011 study isolated a substance (CEppt) in the cinnamon plant that inhibits development of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease" title="Alzheimer's disease" >Alzheimer's</a> in mice.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#cite_note-36" >[37]</a> CEppt, an extract of cinnamon bark, seems to treat a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#cite_note-37" >[38]</a>

<h2 >Nutritional information</h2>

100 gram of ground cinnamon contains the following nutritional information according to the USDA.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#cite_note-38" >[39]</a>

<ul >

<li >Energy: 1034 kJ (247 kcal)</li>

<li >Carbohydrates: 80.6 g (of which - Fibres: 53.1 g, Sugars: 2 g)</li>

<li >Protein: 4.0 g</li>

</ul>

Cinnamon

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