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Cinnamon Essential Oil
Cinnamon
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 Cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylanicum is a small bushy evergreen tree, up to 15m tall with thick scabrous bark, it has shiny leaves, small white flowers followed by oval bluish-white berries.. The bark of the tree is thick, smooth and light or dark brownish in color. It is a native of Sri Lanka, India and tropical Asia: cultivated from ancient times, it appears to have reached Egypt and Europe by the fifth century BC. It is one of the oldest spices known, mentioned in the Bible and was used in ancient Egypt not only as a beverage flavoring and medicine, but also as an embalming agent. It was so highly treasured that it was considered more precious than gold. Cinnamon also received much attention in China, which is reflected in its mention in one of the earliest books on Chinese botanical medicine, dated around 2,700 B.C.
Cinnamon is usually regarded as the bark of the Cinnamomum zeylanicum tree; it is known as canela in Portugal and Spain, cannelle in France, and Zimt in Germany. In India and Iran, it is called darchini, meaning "wood from China", which more accurately describes cassia. The original name came from the Malay word, "kayumanis", meaning sweet wood. The Hebrew equivalent was "qinnamon", and this is thought to be the source of the word cinnamon.
Cinnamon is not often considered when one thinks of the spices that spurred the European expansion into Asia during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Invariably it is the trade in cloves, nutmeg and mace you think of, that urged sailors and merchants to further the European expansion into the Indian Ocean trade routes and the production of spices. Those people who could afford the spice used it in meals for flavour and to impress those around them with their ability to purchase a condiment from the "exotic" East. Some scholars speculate that the upper crust of European society consumed large quantities of spices during the Middle Ages in order to cover up the taste of cured meats, which began to spoil during the winter.
It is the inner bark which is obtained from carefully selected shoots which when it is then cured and dried. While drying, the bark shrinks and curls into the typical cylinder or quill, that we all recognise. The Chinese used the bark of this tree as a medicine. The Romans also knew about the medicinal value of the bark. Eminent physicians like Galen, Dioscoredes and Sasaferes described various uses of cinnamon. Indians knew about the therapeutic uses of this herb before the 8th century. An analysis of cinnamon shows it to consist of moisture, protein, fat, fibre, carbohydrates and ash, besides calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins C and A. Cinnamon bark has generally the properties of the spices, being aromatic, carminative, and stimulant. It is also somewhat astringent. It is rarely prescribed alone, but chiefly as an addition to other medicines, to improve their flavour or to check their griping qualities. As a cordial, stimulant, and tonic, it is indicated in all cases characterized by feebleness and atony.
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 Essential oil basically cinnamon essential oils comes in two forms, cinnamon bark, which is steam distilled from the inner bark of the tree, and cinnamon leaf, steam distilled from the leaves and twigs: there is also a cinnamon cassia, but this is from a slightly different subspecies and is discusssed under ‘Cassia’. Cinnamon bark oil is mostly used for fragrance and flavouring, and is not to be used in aromatherapy, as it may be harmful on the skin. However, cinnamon leaf essential oil has many uses in modern practice, and is current in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia as a specific for flatulent cholic and dyspepsia with nausea.
Studies to confirm cinnamon’s beneficial actions in humans are currently underway with the most recent report coming from researchers from the US Agricultural Research Service, who have shown that less than half a teaspoon per day of cinnamon reduces blood sugar levels in persons with type 2 diabetes.
Research led by Dr. P. Zoladz and presented April 24, 2004, at the annual meeting of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences, in Sarasota, FL, found that chewing cinnamon flavored gum or just smelling cinnamon enhanced study participants cognitive processing. Specifically, cinnamon improved participants scores on tasks related to attentional processes, virtual recognition memory, working memory, and visual-motor speed while working on a computer-based program.
In addition to the active components in its essential oils and its nutrient composition, cinnamon has also been valued in energy-based medical systems, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, for its warming qualities. In these traditions, cinnamon has been used to provide relief when faced with the onset of a cold or flu, especially when mixed in a tea with some fresh ginger.
Adulteration
Cinnamon bark oil is often cut with cinnamon leaf oil, canella oil, clove leaf oil, eugenol, cinnamic aldehyde etc. Cassia oil is often used as a substitute. Cinnamon leaf oil is often substituted by clove oil, bay leaf oil and synthetic eugenol and cinnamic aldehyde mixtures. Other crude diluents are used such as fuel oil, kerosene, petroleum etc.
Properties, Indications and Uses
Uses: Cinnamon oils have been used for several years in dental medications, and as a germicidal agent in toothpaste. They are also carminative and have been used in the treatment of diarrhoea (dose; 0.3 - 1.2ml of cinnamon spirit - ie. 10% oil in alcohol). The oils can also be used as an inhalant in boiling water. (37)
There is a temporary acceptable daily intake of cinnamaldehyde of up to 700µg per kg body weight per day. (37)
GRAS
Cinnamon bark and cinnamon leaf essential oils have GRAS status
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