The name cassia indirectly derives from Greek kasia, which is probably a loan from Semitic traders (cf. Old Hebrew qetsiiah ); its ultimate origin is not fully clear, but the name might well derive, as the spice itself, from China in a larger sense. It was suggested that cassia might be related to the name of the Khasi people, an Austroasiatic tribe in North-Eastern India (union state Meghalaya) and Bangladesh. Formerly, they inhabitated a larger area in Assam, extending to Burma, and they might have been involved in ancient cassia trade.
History: The ancient Egyptians used the spice for embalming,The Dutch had a monopoly on the Cinnamon trade until 1776,Cinnamomum zeylanicum famous as name of 'Spice of spices' .
Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: The twigs are picked in the spring, dried in a shady place or in the sunshine and then cut into slices or pieces.True cinnamon, or Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, is the inner bark of a small evergreen tree native to Sri Lanka and was used in ancient Egypt for embalming. It was also added to food to prevent spoiling. During the Bubonic Plague, sponges were soaked in cinnamon and cloves and placed in sick rooms. Cinnamon was the most sought after spice during explorations of the 15th and 16th centuries.
Other names: Liu Gui
Plant family:Lauraceae (laurel family).
Nature & flavor: Acrid, sweet, and warm
Latin Name:Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinamomum saigonicum,Cinnamomum aromaticum,Ramulus Cinnamomi
Pharmacopeial Name: Cinnamomi cassiae cortex
Pharmaceutical Name: Ramulus Cinnamomi
Botanical Name: Cinnamomum cassia Presl
Source of Earliest Record: Shennong Bencao Jing
Channel entry: Lungs, heart, and urinary bladder
Distribution:Mainly in Chinese provinces such as Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian; also in Yunnan province.
History: The ancient Egyptians used the spice for embalming,The Dutch had a monopoly on the Cinnamon trade until 1776
Botanical Description:Long cylindrical, much-branched, 30~75 cm long, thick end 0.3~1 cm in diameter. Externally brown to reddish-brown, with longitudinal ridges, fine wrinkles, dotted leaf-scars, branch-scars and bud-scars, lenticels dotted. Texture hard and fragile, easily broken. Slices 2~4 mm thick, cut surface showing reddish-brown in bark, yellowish-white to pale yellowish-brown in wood, pith subsquare. Odour, characteristically aromatic; taste, sweet and slightly pungent, relatively strong for bark.
Synonyms of Cassia Twig:
Bot Cinnamomum aromaticum Nees
Arabic:Darseen,Kerfee Chinese:Kuei, Rou gui pi, Rougui,GuiZhi,GuiPi.
Croatian:Kineski cimet Danish:Kinesisk Kanel
Dutch:Kassie, Bastaardkaneel, Valse kaneel
English:Ramulus Cinnamomi,Chinese cassia, Bastard cinnamon, Chinese cinnamon
Estonian:Hiina kaneelipuu Finnish:Talouskaneli, Kassia
French:Casse,Canelle de Chine German:Chinesischer Zimt, Kassie Hebrew:Kasia, Kassia, Qasia, Qassia
Hungarian:Kasszia Indonesian:Kayu manis cina
Italian:Cassia, Cannella della Cina Korean:Kyae-pee
Laotian:Sa chouang, Sa chwang Norwegian:Kassia
Polish:Kasja, Cynamonowiec wonny (tree) Portuguese:Canela-da-china
Russian:Korichnoje derevo Slovak:korica cassia
Slovenian:Kasija Spanish:Casia, Canela de la China
Swedish:Kassia Thai:Ob choey, Kaeng Vietnamese:Que thanh, Que don, Que quang
Chinese cinnamon is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to China and Vietnam, now cultivated in southwestern China, Cambodia,Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and Vietnam. The cultivated trees are kept as coppices, and prevented from growing higher than 10 feet. The material of commerce used in Chinese medicine is produced in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The genus name Cinnamomum may be from Arabic, Hebrew, or Malay language origins and its species name, cassia, is from the Greek kassia, meaning to strip off the bark. Its medical use is recorded in Chinese formularies around 2700 B.C.E. and somewhat later in ancient Greek and Latin texts. According to the energetics theory in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), it acts to supplement body "fire," to "warm" and tone the "spleen" and "kidney," thus making it effective for precordial and abdominal pain with "cold" sensation, diarrhea due to asthenia and pathogenic "cold," and hypofunction of the kidney. Galenical preparations of Chinese cinnamon bark are used as a carminative, digestive, or stomachic component of compounds in TCM, traditional Greco-European medicines, and traditional Indian Ayurvedic and Unani medicine.
Collection:The fine branches are collected between March and July. Branch pieces of 15-100cm in length are cut and sun-dried.
Functions:Effuses sweat and resolves the exterior, warms the channels and stops pain, invigorates yang and transforms the qi
Sensoric quality: Strongly aromatic, sweet, warm, but slightly bitter and mucilaginous. Compared to Ceylon cinnamon, cassia tastes slightly bitter and adstringent, and it lacks the "liveliness" of cinnamon. On bitter spices, see also fenugreek.
Extraction: Distilled from the leaf or bark, cinnamon has a sweet, spicy-hot fragrance. The hotter, more expensive bark is composed of 40-50 percent cinnamaldehyde and 4-10 percent eugenol. It is reddish-brown. The leaf is 3 percent cinnamaldehyde and 70-90 percent eugenol.
Medicinal Action: Cinnamon helps stop menstrual cramps, indigestion, diarrhea, and genital and urinary infections. It increases sweating, and creates heat when used in a liniment.
Emotional Attribute: The smell relieves tension, steadies nerves and invigorates the senses. In very small amounts cinnamon can be an aphrodisiac.
Considerations: Both bark and leaf oils can irritate mucous membranes, but the bark oil is more hazardous. Use sparingly. Dermal irritant.
Properties: Alterative, analgesic, anodyne, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-infective, anti-oxidant, anti-parasitic, anti-septic, astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, haemostatic, hypotensive, sedative, stimulates and then depresses the nervous system, stomachic.
Phytochemicals and Constituents:Cassia Twig Cinnamon:
Cinnamomum zeylanicum famous as name of 'Spice of spices'
Around 200 species of cinnamon are found in the area covered by Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Pacific Islands. In the tertiary period their distribution was much larger. Occasionally cinnamon flowers are seen in Baltic amber! Cinnamons are fragrant. Leaves, bark, flowers, fruits, wood and root always contain essential oil of various composition.
Cinnamon as we know it is the dried bark from the Sri Lanka cinnamon bush, C. zeylanicum. The main component of cinnamon bark oil is the aromatic aldehyde 3-phenyl-2(E)-propenal, also called cinnamaldehyde (about 60 % of the essential oil). However, the oil from the leaves of the cinnamon bush has eugenol as the main component, the oil from the root has camphor as the main component, whereas the oil from the flowers has cinnamyl acetate as its main component.
Coca-Cola's original flavour came from cinnamon, lime oil, cola nuts, etc.
Main constituents of Cassia Twig:
Cinnamic aldehyde,C9H8O,0.15%~0.70%;Cinnamic acid,C9H8O2.
Similarly to Ceylon cinnamon, cassia contains max. 4% essential oil, 75 to 90% of which are composed by Cinnamic aldehyde. Eugenol is found only in traces, but small amounts of coumarin; therefore, analysis of eugenol and coumarin discriminates between Ceylon and Chinese cinnamon. Trace components of cassia oil are benzoic acid, cinnamic acid, salicylic acid and the corresponding esters and aldehyds. Cassia bark contains significantly more slime (11%) than Ceylon cinnamon bark.
The leaf oil (0.3 to 0.8%) has a similar composition to the bark oil.
Etymology: Gr. kinamomon, from kinein, roll; a, without; momon, error, i.e. an unbroken bark roll. Lat. zeylanicum, from Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
Cassia, also called Chinese Cinnamon, Common name for the spice derived from the aromatic bark of the evergreen cassia tree.
The use of cinnamon dates back thousands of years to at least 2700 B.C. Chinese herbals from that time mentioned it as a treatment for fever, diarrhea, and menstrual problems. Indian Ayurvedic healers used it in a similar manner. Cinnamon was introduced around 500 B.C. to the Egyptians, who then added it to their embalming mixtures. Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans used it as a spice, perfume, and for indigestion. Moses included cinnamon in an anointing oil that he used. By the seventeenth century, cinnamon was considered a culinary spice by Europeans. American nineteenth century physicians prescribed cinnamon as a treatment for stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, colic, and uterine problems.
The name cassia indirectly derives from Greek kasia, which is probably a loan from Semitic traders (cf. Old Hebrew qetsiiah ); its ultimate origin is not fully clear, but the name might well derive, as the spice itself, from China in a larger sense. It was suggested that cassia might be related to the name of the Khasi people, an Austroasiatic tribe in North-Eastern India (union state Meghalaya) and Bangladesh. Formerly, they inhabitated a larger area in Assam, extending to Burma, and they might have been involved in ancient cassia trade.
Cassia was the first cinnamon species that has made its way to Europe, at least since Alexander the Great. Before this time, cassia was transported as far as to Egypt, where it was part of mummification mixtures for the pharaohs, and to Israel, since cassia is mentioned several times in the Bible (see pomegranate for details).
In Chinese cookery, cassia is an essential ingredient and used in the famous five spice powder (see star anise). Alone or in combination with other components of this mixture, cassia is important for a cooking technique characteristic of China and particularly the Hunan province: Cooking in a spiced broth (master sauce), also known as red cooking or red braising.
A master sauce is a spicy mixture of soy sauce, broth, sweet bean paste (hoisin), sugar and rice wine; according to the cook's preferences, it is flavoured with fresh ginger, spring onion, garlic and a host of dried spices (the most important of which are cassia and star anise; furthermore, orange peel, black pepper, sichuan pepper and even licorice may be used). Meat and poultry (often shortly fried or broiled to get a brown surface) is simply cooked in this sauce until very tender, typically a few hours for beef and one half to one hour for chicken. Pork belly can also be prepared this way; made properly, it is delicious even if excessively greasy.
The cooking method outlined in the previous paragraph is simple, but very effective. One of the reasons why it works so well is its alcohol content: alcohol facilitates the blending of flavours. To prevent the volatile alcohol from evaporating, the cooking pot must be closed carefully and the temperature should be kept at a slow simmer.
The master sauce is not served; it may be diluted with soy sauce, rice wine and water and re-used. The more often the sauce is used, the more aromatic it tastes.
Similar to cinnamon, cassia bark has a more pungent, less delicate flavor. Native to China Vietnam and Indonesia with Chinese cassia being less aromatic. Cassia bark is used as a flavoring in cooking and is particularly popular in Asia and southern Europe.
Today, cassia is the preferred cinnamon species from peninsular South East Asia to Central Asia. In Western countries, Ceylon cinnamon is usually preferred for its purer and less harsh taste. Although cassia seems to be rather common in the US, it is hardly available in Europe unless in Chinese markets. Cassia can be substituted by cinnamon without loss of authenticity.
Premodern statements of function of Cassia Twig:
Cinnamon was one of the first trade spices of the ancient world. Biblical references indicate that merchants carried the Asian spice all the way from Ceylon to Palestine: that's a 24-hour airplane trip today ,before the pyramids were built. The English word cinnamon derives from the Hebrew word kannamon, and the spice is mentioned in Psalms, Proverbs, Ezekiel, and Revelations. Moses, the patriarch of patriarchs, commanded the children of Israel to anoint the tabernacle, the vessels of the tabernacle, and the priests themselves with ointments made of cinnamon. Let's remember that the stuff was hauled from beyond India without the help of jet engines, and the Phoenicians and Arabians who hauled it weren't working for peanuts. Why did Moses specify cinnamon and others pay the price it cost? Because it was, and still is, special. There is something about cinnamon that made it worth any expense.
Moses was not cinnamon's first admirer, and many others were to follow, agreeing that it was the superlative body splash and more. The ancients Theophrastus, Herodotus, Galen, Dioscorides, Pliny, and Strabo all mention it. Cinnamon ranked in value with gold, ivory, and frankincense, and was among the most costly offerings in the temple of Apollo in Miletus in 243 B.C. The early Egyptians used cinnamon in their embalming mixtures, and Chinese medicinal use of the spice dates back 4,700 years.
Cheng Wu-ji:"[Gui Zhi] discharges running piglet, harmonizes the fleshy exterior, and dissipates blood amassment in the lower burner." "[It] disinhibits the lung qi."
Yi Xue Qi Yuan:"[Gui Zhi] removes headache from wind damage, opens the interstices, dissipates the exterior, and removes wind damp from the skin."
Ben Cao Jing Shu(Dredging the Materia Medica Classic):"In exterior repletion, [Gui Zhi] dispels evil. [It] mainly disinhibits the liver and lung qi, headache, and wind impediment joint and bone contraction pain."
Yao Pin Hua Yi:"By moving to the shoulders and upper arms, [Gui Zhi] can lead [other] medicinals to the area of pain. [It] also eliminates phlegm congelation blood stagnation in the joints."
Ben Cao Bei Yao(Essentials of the Materia Medica):"[Gui Zhi] warms the channels and frees the vessels, effuses sweat and dissipates the muscles."
Ben Cao Zai Xin (New Materia Medica):"[Gui Zhi] warms the middle and moves blood, fortifies the spleen and dries the stomach, disperses swelling and disinhibits dampness. [It] treats cold and numbness of hands and feet, cramping and pain, and exterior common cold."
Cinnamon is also known by the names Sweet Wood, Cassia and Gui Zhi. The parts of this plant used medicinally are the dried inner bark of the shoots, and the oil distilled from the bark and leaves. Cinnamon is an ancient herbal medicine mentioned in Chinese texts as long ago as 4,000 years. Cinnamon was used in ancient Egypt for embalming. In ancient times, it was added to food to prevent spoiling. During the Bubonic Plague, sponges were soaked in cinnamon & cloves, and placed in sick rooms. Cinnamon was the most sought after spice during explorations of the 15th and 16th centuries. It has also been burned as an incense. The smell of Cinnamon is pleasant, stimulates the senses, yet calms the nerves. Its smell is reputed to attract customers to a place of business.
Most Americans consider Cinnamon a simple flavoring, but in traditional Chinese medicine, it's one of the oldest remedies, prescribed for everything from diarrhea and chills to influenza and parasitic worms. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a small Southeast Asian evergreen tree, and is available as an oil, extract, or dried powder. It's closely related to Cassia (Cassia tora), and contains many of the same components, but the bark and oils from Cinnamon have a better flavor. Cinnamon has a broad range of historical uses in different cultures, including the treatment of diarrhea, rheumatism, and certain menstrual disorders. Traditionally, the bark was believed best for the torso, the twigs for the fingers and toes. Research has highlighted hypoglycemic properties, useful in diabetes. Cinnamon brandy is made by soaking crushed Cinnamon bark a "fortnight" in brandy. Chinese herbalists tell of older people, in their 70s and 80s, developing a cough accompanied by frequent spitting of whitish phlegm. A helpful remedy, they suggest, is chewing and swallowing a very small pinch of powdered cinnamon. This remedy can also help people with cold feet and hands, especially at night. Germany's Commission E approves Cinnamon for appetite loss and indigestion.
In China and Europe, cinnamon was a popular aphrodisiac and antiseptic. Often fought over, it was the reason for the Portuguese seizing Ceylon in 1505, the Dutch later taking the country from them, and the British grabbing it next. Today, cinnamon is grown in Madagascar, Africa, Indochina and Sri Lanka. When this large, subtropical tree is two years old, it is harvested twice a year for 30 years. Small amounts of the oil spice up Oriental perfume blends. Eugenol isolated from the bark oil is turned into synthetic vanilla.
Referential Advice of Cassia Twig:
1.Sweating and dispersing exopathogens from the muscles:
It can be used as a diaphoretic for the syndrome due to attack by wind and cold, whether the patient perspires or not. It is often combined with Racix Paeoniae Alva to treat the asthenia-syndrome of the superficies with spontaneous perspiration by mediating Ying and Wei systems; and it can also be combined with Herba Ephedrae to reinforce each other's actions for sthenic syndrome of the superficies with anhidrosis.
2. Warming the channels and arresting pain:
It is often combined with such antirheumatics as Rhizoma seu Radix Natopterygii, Radix Ledebouriellae and Radix Paeoniae Alba, Racix Axoniti Praeparata, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae and Rhizoma Anemarrhenae for the treatment of arthralgia syndrome due to attack of the upper limbs by cold and dampness. For instances, it is often used with Radix Aconiti Praeparat for the treatment of sycduome due to invasion of superficies by cold wind, and deficiency of Yang in the exterior; with Racix Astragali seu Hedysari, Radix Paeoniae Alba,etc., for the syndrome of arthralgia due to blood disorder manifested as numbness of the extremities; with Radix Paeoniae Alba, maltose, etc.,for wpigastric or abdominal pain due to invasion of the stomach by cold; and eith such drugs for promoting blood flow and regulating menstruation as Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Racix Paeoniae Alba, Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong, Semen Persicae, Cortex Moutan Radicis, etc. for irregular menstruation due to blood stasis caused by invasion of cold, or for amenorrhea with abdominal pain.
3. Promoting Yang and reinforcing vital energy:
It is often combined with Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae and Poria for the treatment of cough and expectoration of watery phlegm due to retention of dampness-phlegm in the lung and a blockage in the passage of Qi; with Poria, Polyporus Umbellatus, Rhizoma Alimatis, etc. for disorder of urination caused by dysfunction of thr urinary bladder; and with Fructus Trichosanthis, Bulbus Allii Macrostemi for angina pectoris or thoracic pain; with Radix Glycyrrhizae, Radix Ginseng, Colla Colla Asini, etc., for palpitation eith knotted or intermittent pulse by promoting thoracic-Yang and restoring the normal pulse.
4. Cinnamon - delicious aromatic spice is a wonderfully warming and strengthening remedy to dispel cold:
winter chills and a variety of conditions associated with cold, congestion and deficiency of vital energy. Cinnamon acts as a tonic to the whole system. A hot drink of cinnamon will stimulate circulation and cause sweating, preventing and resolving flu, colds, catarrh and other infections. Cinnamon helps to reduce fevers. Oil of cinnamon can be inhaled for head colds and chest infections. Its general warming and stimulating properties can give direction in the body by other remedies -such as thyme for bronchial congestion and infections, or blue cohosh as a uterine remedy to treat irregular and painful periods, heavy bleeding, uterine infections and vaginal discharge.
5. Cinnamon acts as a relaxant, reducing anxiety and stress, relieving cramp and colic:
Eugenol in the volatile oil relieves pain, for example when used as a liniment for arthritis, to deaden the nerve in toothache and for such conditions as headaches, muscle pain and neuralgia.
6. Cinnamon warms and stimulates the digestive system:
useful in weak digestion, colic, griping, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, wind and distension. The tannins have an astringent action, stemming bleeding in nosebleeds, heavy periods and resolving diarrhea and catarrhal congestion. When taken cold, cinnamon has been used to stop sweating.
Functions & indications of Cassia Twig:
1.Effuses sweat and resolves the muscles:
Gui Zhi is used for contraction of wind cold with symptoms of headache, aversion to cold, etc. If exterior cold damage is of a replete nature with an absence of sweat, Gui Zhi is combined with Herba Ephedrae (Ma Huang) in order to open the interstices and effuse sweat (Ma Huang Tang [Ephedra Decoction]). In that combination, Gui Zhi communicates with the constructive division or aspect and moves the fluids to the exterior where they are forcefully pushed outward by the strong sweat-effusing and cold-scattering properties of Ma Huang. If exterior cold damage is vacuous nature with spontaneous perspiration, Gui Zhi is combined with Radix Albae Paeoniae Lactiflorae (Bai Shao) (Gui Zhi Tang [Cinnamon Twig Decoction]). Gui Zhi and Bai Shao complement each other as Bai Shao constrains and protects the yin and Gui Zhi communicates with the constructive division and resolves the flesh.
The application of the combination of Gui Zhi and Bai Shao extends beyond exterior vacuity cold damage. By harmonizing the constructive, this combination is used for any condition of disharmony of the defensive and constructive divisions manifesting with spontaneous perspiration and/or night sweats accompanied by fear of wind and cold and possibly frequent assailment by wind cold. For these indications, prescribe stir-fried Gui Zhi and uncooked Bai Shao.
2. Warms the channels, frees the flow of the vessels, and stops pain: :
Gui Zhi is used for wind cold damp impediment and shoulder, upper arm, and joint soreness and pain (Gui Zhi Shao Yao Zhi Mu Tang [Cinnamon Twig, Peony, and Anemarrhena Decoction]). If yang is vacuous with markedly cold limbs, Gui Zhi can be combined with Radix Lateralis Praeparatus Aconiti Carmichaeli (Fu Zi) (Gui Zhi Fu Zi Tang [Cinnamon Twig and Aconite Decoction]). For acute abdominal pain with spasms and cramps or for insidious pain with a liking for pressure and warmth due to vacuity cold, Gui Zhi is combined with Bai Shao (Xiao Jian Zhong Tang [Minor Fortify the Center Decoction]). This combination relaxes spasms and contractions. In order to relax abdominal pain and spasms, honey mix-fried Gui Zhi and wine stir-fried Bai Shao need to be prescribed. Furthermore, the dose of Bai Shao needs to be double the dose of Gui Zhi. For blood impediment stubborn numbness with pain or numbness of the limbs due to vacuity of the constructive and defensive, Gui Zhi is combined with Radix Astragali Membranacei (Huang Qi) and Bai Shao (Qi Gui Zhi Wu Wu Tang [Astragalus & Cinnamon Twig Five Materials Decoction]). Combined with Gypsum Fibrosum (Shi Gao), Gui Zhi, due to its function of strongly freeing the flow of the vessels and thereby stopping pain, can also be used for hot impediment (Bai Hu Jia Gui Zhi Tang [White Tiger Decoction Plus Cinnamon Twig]). For the treatment of women's blood cold stasis and stagnation with symptoms of menstrual irregularities, painful menstruation, blocked menstruation, and concretions and conglomerations in the uterus, Gui Zhi is combined with blood-moving medicinals (Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan [Cinnamon Twig and Poria Decoction], Wen Jing Tang [Warm the Menses Decoction]).
3. Invigorates yang and transforms the qi: :
Gui Zhi can be combined with Fructus Immaturus Citri Aurantii (Zhi Shi), Bulbus Allii (Xie Bai) and Fructus Trichosanthis Kirilowii (Gua Lou) for chest impediment with pain due to heart yang vacuity (Zhi Shi Xie Bai Gui Zhi Tang [Immature Aurantium, Chinese Chive & Cinnamon Twig Decoction]). For heart stirring palpitations and a bound or regularly intermittent pulse, Gui Zhi is combined with honey mix-fried Radix Glycyrrhizae (Gan Cao) and other qi-boosting and blood-supplementing medicinals in order to restore the pulse (Zhi Gan Cao Tang [Mix-fried Licorice Decoction]). For water dampness accumulating and overflowing in the middle burner due to spleen-kidney yang vacuity with symptoms of upper back pain and rib-side distension, cough counterflow, dizziness, and heart palpitations, Gui Zhi is combined with Sclerotium Poriae Cocos (Fu Ling) and Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Bai Zhu) (Ling Gui Zhu Gan Tang [Poria, Cinnamon, Atractylodes & Licorice Decoction]). For urinary bladder qi transformation vacuity with inhibited urination and water swelling, Gui Zhi is combined with urine-disinhibiting and dampness-seeping medicinals (Wu Ling San [Five {Ingredients} Poria Powder]).
The primary chemical constituents of this herb include cinnamaldehyde, gum, tannin, mannitol, coumarins, and essential oils (aldehydes, eugenol, pinene). Cinnamon is predominantly used as a carminative addition to herbal prescriptions. It is used in flatulent dyspepsia, dyspepsia with nausea, intestinal colic and digestive atony associated with cold & debilitated conditions. It relieves nausea and vomiting, and, because of its mild astringency, it is particularly useful in infantile diarrhea. The cinnamaldehyde component is hypotensive and spasmolytic, and increases peripheral blood flow. The essential oil of this herb is a potent antibacterial, anti-fungal, and uterine stimulant. The various terpenoids found in the volatile oil are believed to account for Cinnamon medicinal effects. Test tube studies also show that Cinnamon can augment the action of insulin. However, use of Cinnamon to improve the action of insulin in people with diabetes has yet to be proven in clinical trials. Topical applications of Cinnamon include use as a hair rinse for dark hair, and as a toothpaste flavoring to freshen breath. As a wash, it prevents and cures fungal infections such as athletes foot. It is also used in massage oils. You can also place Cinnamon in sachets to repel moths. Its prolonged use is known to beautify the skin and promote a rosy complexion. The common name Cinnamon encompasses many varieties, including Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum saigonicum, which are used interchangeably with Cinnamomum zeylanicum.
Cassia Twig Actions in Brief:
Antiseptic: an agent for inhibiting the growth of microorganism on living tissue or destroying pathogenic or putrefactive bacteria.
Aphrodisiac: an agent for arousing or increasing sexual desire or potency.
Aromatic: a substance having an agreeable odor and stimulating qualities.
Astringent: a binding agent that contracts organic tissue, reducing secretions or discharges of mucous and fluid from the body.
Bblood purifier: an agent to purify the blood.
Carminative: an agent for easing griping pains, colic and expelling gas from the intestines.
Cordial: invigorating, stimulating medicine, food or drink.
Digestive: aids digestion.
Local stimulant: an agent that excites or quickens the functional activity of the tissues giving more energy,to the body and other herbs, enabling herbal remedies to work faster (added to remedies for acute symptoms)
Therapeutic properties: Cinnamon's medicinal value is largely due to its volatile oil, which has antiviral and stimulating properties.
Ancient warming remedy: In both India and Europe, cinnamon has been traditionally taken as a warming herb for "cold" conditions, often in combination with ginger (Zingiber officinale). The herb stimulates the circulation, especially to the fingers and toes. Cinnamon is also a traditional remedy for digestive problems, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, as well as for aching, muscles and other symptoms of viral conditions such as colds.
Convalescence: Cinnamon is a supportive and strengthening herb for weak digestions. It is used specifically in the treatment of debility and in convalescence.
Gynecological remedy: The herb has a slight emmenagogic action-stimulating the uterus and encouraging menstrual bleeding. In India, cinnamon is taken after childbirth as a contraceptive.
Other medical uses: Altitude sickness, Tennis elbow.
Part Application of Cinamon:
Bark: Decoction:Use for chronic diarrhea or complaints related to weakened kidney qi (energy). Can be used for "cold" conditions.
Tincture:Dilute up to 5 ml in a little hot water for colds and chills.
Powder/Capsules:Use for "cold" conditions affecting the kidneys and digestion.
Essential Oil: Inhalation:Dissolve 5 drops oil in boiling water and inhale the steam for coughs and respiratory irritation.
Massage Oil:Dilute 10 ml cinnamon oil in 25 ml almond or sunflower oil and use for abdominal colic, stomach chills, or diarrhea.
Twigs: Decoction:Take for colds, stomach in chills, and as a circulatory stimulant. Combines well with ginger.
Tincture:Dilute up to 5 ml in a little hot water and use as the decoction.
Compress:Soak a pad in the decoction or diluted tincture to relieve arthritic and rheumatic pain.
More Common Indications of Cassia Twig:
General Action:To induce perspiration, to warm the channels and stimulate menstrual discharge, to reinforce yang, to relieve palpitation, and to promote the descending of qi.
Common Indications:Common cold; epigastric pain with cold feeling; amenorrhea due to cold in blood; arthralgia; edema; cardiac palpitation; gastro-intestinal neurosis with a feeling of masses of gas rushing up through the chest to the throat from the lower abdomen.
1. Wind-cold type of exterior syndrome: Cinnamon twigs (Guizhi) used with Ephedra (Mahuang) increases the diaphoretic action of the herb.
2. Wind-cold type of exterior deficiency syndrome manifested as sweating, aversion to wind, fever and superficial and tardy pulse: Cinnamon twigs (Guizhi) is used with White peony root (Baishao) in the formula Guizhi Tang.
3. Arthritic pain caused by invasion of exogenous wind, cold and damp manifested as soreness and pain in the joints, limbs, shoulders and back: Cinnamon twigs (Guizhi) is used with Prepared aconite root (Fuzi).
4. Deficiency of yang in the heart and spleen manifested as palpitations, edema and shortness of breath: Cinnamon twigs (Guizhi) is used with Poria (Fuling) and White atractylodes (Baizhu).
5. Weakness of yang in the chest (including what is known as Angina pectoria in Western medicine) manifested as pain in the chest, palpitations, or intermittent pulse: Cinnamon twigs (Guizhi) is used with Macrostem onion (Xiebai) and Trichosanthes fruit (Gualou).
6. Amenorrhea abdominal pain due to cold invasion and blood stasis: Cinnamon twigs (Guizhi) is used with Peach seed (Taoren), Moutan bark (Mudanpi) and Poria (Fuling) in the formula Guizhi Fuling Wan.
7. Used in external contraction wind cold with symptoms of headache, aversion to cold, etc:
For exterior vacuity spontaneous perspiration, Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae is commonly combined with Radix Albus Paeoniae Lactiflorae (Bai Shao), uncooked Rhizoma Zingiberis (Sheng Jiang), Fructus Zizyphi Jujubae (Da Zao), and Radix Glycyrrhizae (Gan Cao). This is then called Gui Zhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction). For exterior repletion lack of sweating, one can combine Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae with Herba Ephedrae (Ma Huang), etc. as in Ma Huang Tang (Ephedra Decoction).
8. Used for wind cold damp impediment, shoulder, upper arm, and extremity joint soreness and pain:
If wind dampness is in the exterior and exterior yang is tending to be vacuous, one can combine Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae with Radix Lateralis Praeparatus Aconiti Carmichaeli (Fu Zi), etc. as in Gui Zhi Fu Zi Tang (Cinnamon Twigs & Aconite Decoction). If there is an insufficiency of constructive and defensive qi with blood impediment stubborn numbness, one can combine Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae with Radix Astragali Membranacei (Huang Qi) and Radix Paeoniae Lactiflorae (Shao Yao) as in Huang Qi Gui Zhi Wu Wu Tang (Astragalus & Cinnamon Twig Five Materials Decoction).
9. Used for women blood cold stasis and stagnation with menstrual irregularity, blocked menstruation, abdominal pain, and concretions and conglomerations:
Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae is commonly combined with Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Dang Gui), Radix Paeoniae (Shao Yao), Radix Ligustici Wallichii (Chuan Xiong), Semen Pruni Persicae (Tao Ren), Cortex Radicis Moutan (Dan Pi), and other such blood-quickening, freeing the flow of the channels medicinals as in Wen Jing Tang (Warm the Channels Decoction) or Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan (Cinnamon Twigs & Poria Pills).
10. Used for middle burner vacuity cold with stomach and venter insidious pain with a liking for obtaining warmth and pressure:
In that case, Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae is commonly combined with Radix Albus Paeoniae Lactiflorae (Bai Shao), Maltose (Yi Tang), and Radix Astragali Membranacei (Huang Qi) as in Huang Qi Jian Zhong Tang (Astragalus Fortify the Center Decoction).
11. Used for heart-spleen yang vacuity, yang qi not moving, with water dampness gathering internally:
The symptoms of this are upper back pain and rib-side distention, cough counterflow, and dizziness. In that case, Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae is commonly combined with Sclerotium Poriae Cocos (Fu Ling) and Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Bai Zhu) as in Ling Gui Zhu Gan Tang (Poria, Cinnamon Twig, Atractylodes & Licorice Decoction). If there is urinary bladder qi transformation not moving inhibited urination and water swelling, Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae is commonly combined with Sclerotium Poriae Cocos (Fu Ling) and Sclerotium Polypori Umbellati (Zhu Ling) as in Wu Ling San (Five [Ingredients] Poria Powder).
12. Used for chest impediment and chest pain or heart stirring palpitations and a bound, regularly intermittent pulse:
For the former, Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae is commonly combined with Fructus Immaturus Citri Aurantii (Zhi Shi), Fructus Trichosanthis Kirlowii (Gua Lou), and Bulbus Allii (Xie Bai) as in Zhi Shi Xie Bai Gui Zhi Tang (Immature Aurantium, Allium & Cinnamon Twig Decoction). For the latter, Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae is commonly combined with mix-fried Radix Glycyrrhizae (Gan Cao), Radix Panacis Ginseng (Ren Shen), and Gelatinum Corii Asini (E Jiao) as in Zhi Gan Cao Tang (Mix-fried Licorice Decoction).
13. Gastrointestinal Conditions:: prevents uncomfortable bloating,relieves diarrhea,relieves flatulence (gas/wind),relieves griping,relieves nausea,relieves weakness of the stomach,stops vomiting
Flavor description of Cinnamon:
Cinnamon (and the closely related cassia) comes from the aromatic bark of a tree native to China,Sri Linka. Buy it as sticks (or quills) or ground. Cinnamon is traditional in gingerbread, mulled wine, and chocolate cakes and desserts. Cinnamon is also good with apples and pears. Moroccans and Persians use it often with lamb and chicken. And in Indian food, cinnamon is typically paired with cardamom and used in rice pilafs.
Cinnamon sticks have a sweeter, subtler flavor and a longer shelf life than ground. Whole cinnamon is best ground in a clean coffee mill. Make cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on French toast and pancakes by processing a 1/2-inch to 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick and sugar in a coffee mill until fine.
Cassia Twig(Cinnamon Twig) and Its Modern Popular Uses:
Cinnamon bark is a common ingredient in many products such as toothpaste, mouthwash, perfume, soap, lipstick, chewing gum, cough syrup, nasal sprays, and cola drinks. A popular food flavoring, it is valued as one of the world's most important spices. It is also valuable in the treatment of various ailments. Modern herbalists prescribe cinnamon bark as a remedy for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and indigestion. Chinese herbalists recommend it for asthma brought on by cold, some digestive problems, backache, and menstrual problems.
The medicinal value of the herb is attributed to the oil extracted from the inner bark and leaves. The cinnamon bark harvested from the young branches is primarily used for culinary purposes. In fact, the cinnamon sticks commonly used in cooking are actually pieces of rolled outer bark.
The active ingredients of the bark contain antibacterial, antiseptic, antiviral, antispasmodic, and antifungal properties. A study published in 2002 indicates that oil from cinnamon bark inhibits the production of listeriolysin, a protein released by Listeria bacteria that destroys healthy cells.Chinese research has shown cinnamaldehyde, one of the constituents of cinnamon bark, to be sedative and analgesic. Eugenol, another component, contains pain-relieving qualities.
1.Improve digestive system: Cinnamon bark is helpful in strengthening and supporting a weak digestive system,Research reports that cinnamon bark breaks down fats in the digestive system, making it a valuable digestive aid. It is used to treat nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach ulcers, acid indigestion, heartburn, lack of appetite, and abdominal disorders.
2.A traditional stimulant in Chinese medicine: Cinnamon bark has a warming effect on the body and is used for conditions caused by coldness. The twigs of cinnamon enhance circulation, especially to the fingers and toes.
3.Prevent infection by killing decay: Cinnamon bark contains antiseptic properties that help to prevent infection by killing decay-causing bacteria, fungi, and viruses:One German study showed that the use of cinnamon bark suppressed the cause of most urinary tract infections and the fungus responsible for vaginal yeast infections. It is also helpful in relieving athlete's foot.
4.Oral hygiene products material: Cinnamon bark is a frequent ingredient in toothpaste, mouthwash, and other oral hygiene products because it helps kill the bacteria that causes tooth decay and gum disease. Inflammations of the throat and pharynx may be relieved through its use.
5.Control blood sugar levels in diabetics: Cinnamon bark is also known to control blood sugar levels in diabetics.United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers have found that cinnamon bark may reduce the amount of insulin required for glucose metabolism. A dose of 1/8 to 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon per meal for diabetic patients may help to regulate their blood sugar levels.
6.Reputation as an aphrodisiac: A study at the Smell and Taste Research Foundation in Chicago tested medical students' reactions to various aromas by attaching measurement devices to the students' penises. The smell of hot cinnamon buns generated the most blood flow of all the scents.
7.Cinnamon bark promotes menstruation: It has been used to treat menstrual pain and infertility. Women in India take it as a contraceptive after childbirth.
8.Other conditions: in which cinnamon bark may be helpful include fevers and colds, coughs and bronchitis, infection and wound healing, some forms of asthma, and blood pressure reduction.
9.Soothe an upset stomach:Cinnamon extracts have been used medically to treat gastrointestinal problems and to help calm the stomach. Cinnamon is a carminative, an agent that helps break up intestinal gas that has traditionally been used to combat diarrhea and morning sickness. Both test-tube and some animal studies have found that cinnamon may help to relieve mild abdominal discomfort caused by excess gas.
10.Clear up urinary-tract infections:One German study showed that Cinnamon "suppresses completely" the cause of most urinary-tract infections (Escherichia coli bacteria) and the fungus responsible for vaginal yeast infections (Candida albicans).
11.Allow diabetics to use less insulin:Some studies have shown that Cinnamon helps people with diabetes metabolise sugar better. In adult-onset (Type II) diabetes, the pancreas produces insulin, but the body can't use it efficiently to break down blood sugar.
Richard Anderson at the US Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland found that Cinnamon enhances the ability of insulin to metabolise glucose, helping to control blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains the anti-oxidant glutathione and a type of flavonoid called MHCP (methylhydroxy chalcone polymer). It is believed that cinnamon makes fat cells much more responsive to insulin, the hormone that regulates sugar metabolism and thus controls the level of glucose in the blood.
"One-eighth of a teaspoon of cinnamon triples insulin efficiency," say James A. Duke, Ph.D., a botanist retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and author of The CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. Dr. Duke suggest that people with adult-onset diabetes discuss Cinnamon's benefits with their doctor. Taking 0.5 to 0.75 teaspoon of ground Cinnamon with each meal may help control blood sugar levels.
12.Aid digestion:Cinnamon contains compounds called catechins, which help relieve nausea. The volatile oil in cinnamon bark may also help the body to process food by breaking down fats during digestion.
13.Kill many disease-causing fungi and viruses:Preliminary results from test tube and animal studies suggest that cinnamon oil and cinnamon extract have anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-parasitic properties. For example, cinnamon has been found to be active against Candida albicans, the fungus responsible for vaginal yeast infections and thrush (oral yeast infection), Helicobacter pylori (the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers), and even head lice.
An incredible experiment in the journal of Food Science for 1974 demonstrated the power of cinnamon over most yeasts and fungi. Slices of white, raisin, rye and whole wheat breads, manufactured without the usual mold inhibitors, were subjected to various aflatoxins, a group of toxic molds so dangerous that they can cause liver cancer and kill humans and animals alike and often occur in food. The toxic molds grew vigorously on all of the other breads, except for the raisin bread where growth was described as being "scant or not visible at all." In trying to identify whether it was the raisins or cinnamon responsible for this, food scientists discovered that as little as 2% or 20 mg. of the spice per ml of a yeast-extract and sucrose broth inhibited 97 -99 per cent of these molds.
14.Relieve Pain:Cinnamon is considered a pain-killer due to its prostaglandin-inhibiting action.
15.Relieve Colds and Flu:In both India and Europe, cinnamon has been traditionally taken as a warming herb for "cold" conditions, often in combination with ginger (Zingiber officinale). The herb stimulates the circulation, especially to the fingers and toes and has been used for arthritis. Cinnamon is also a traditional remedy for aching muscles and other symptoms of viral conditions such as colds and flue.
16.More recently: cinnamon bark has been shown to be an effective natural snake repellent that is safer to use than synthetic pest management chemicals.
Pharmacology:
Bi-directional regulatory effects on body temperature:
Gui Zhi and Shao Yao used together have a unidirectional effect of raising body temperature.
Protective effects against myocardial ischemia/re-perfusion damages:
Research shows that cinnamic acid, an active component of Gui Zhi, has the following effects: 1) raising the recovery rate of the maximum per-stroke output index after myocardial ischemia and re-perfusion, 2) increasing the coronary flow after re-perfusion, 3) decreasing the leakage of LDH and CPK from cytosomes, 4) reduce the MDA content in myocardial tissues after re-perfusion, and 5) raising the activity of GSH. The distillation of Gui Zhi (1.5ml/L) can reduce the number of incidences of re-perfusion ventricular fibrilation. It also can improve various cardiac functions, such as recovering the heart rate, and increasing the maximum ventricular systole speed, the function index of the left ventricle, and the intake of cardiac muscles.
Treating viral polymyositis:
In one experiment, 40 guinea pig models of Coxsackie virus B1-induced polymyositis induced by Coxsackie virus B1 were randomly divided into 3 groups and treated as follows: group A (15 guinea pigs) was treated with Cai Hu, group B (15 guinea pigs) was treated with Gui Zhi, and group C (10 guinea pigs) served as a control group. The results showed that the symptoms, mylkinase spectrum, and pathological changes of both groups A and B had significantly improved, while those of group C had deteriorated, indicating that Cai Hu and Gui Zhi have a therapeutic effect on polymyositis in mice.
Inhibitory effects on bacterial plaques:
One study treated 60 cases of bacterial plaque with the distillation of Gui Zhi, and reported a 44.60% decrease in bacterial plaque index. Furthermore, the distillation of Gui Zhi has styptic and analgesic effects on patients with odontopathy.
Invigorating pulse:
Experiments show that Gui Zhi can significantly promote temperature and microcirculation recovery in mice of blood stasis due to cold. This effect of Gui Zhi is more pronounced than that of Dan Shen.
Cassia Cinnamon and Stomach Strong:
The Arabians discovered that when you boil out the oils contained in a plant, those oils purvey the scent of said plant, be it roses or cinnamon, and so they imported cinnamon from the Orient, distilled the fragrant oil out, and sold the more easily transported substance to the Europeans. In this form, the spice made its way from Arabia to Venice, and from Venice to all points in Europe. If cinnamon sticks were special, cinnamon oil was considered a 'bonus deluxe'.
Cinnamon is the bark and twigs of a number of related plants that have one thing in common: cinnamon oil. The plant rarely reaches higher than 30 feet; the leaves are deep green and the blossoms usually white. Once the trees are six or seven years old, the bark is peeled off into so-called cinnamon sticks. Ground into powder, they yield what we find in jars on the grocer's shelf. Aside from a great tasting dusting for doughnuts, we don't see cinnamon as being very special any more. This is unfortunate.
Cinnamon is one of the oldest tonic plants on the globe. The world may not agree politically, but in the realm of tonics, all acknowledge that cinnamon is good for health.
Chinese People feel that cinnamon used on a daily basis over a long period of time will improve the complexion, giving the taker a more robust, stronger, and more youthful appearance. One Chinese ancient said that if you took cinnamon with toads' brains for seven years, you would be able to walk on water, look young forever, and never die. While you may have a problem getting your hands on a pound of toads' brains, the active ingredient, cinnamon, is readily available.
Where there's smoke, there's fire, and behind most folk tales, there's some measure of truth. The daily use of cinnamon could well improve your health. The Chinese believe that cinnamon heats up a cold body, improves the circulation, and generally gets the blood rushing around, stoking up the waning fire, if you will, and they prescribe it for loss of vigor, whether due to stress, aging, or illness. They believe the spice warms the kidneys and cures impotence, weak legs, and backache. Specifically, cinnamon is held supreme for blood deficiencies that leave one feeling weak.
In India, cinnamon is used to flavor sweet treats, but every villager also knows that chewing on the cinnamon stick is a powerful treatment for the monthlies. The spice, which stimulates the uterine muscles, is also used in difficult deliveries due to inadequate contractions. A painkiller as well as a uterine stimulant, cinnamon is essentially the herbal equivalent of many over-the-counter menstrual medications. The Chinese, who along with other Asians use it as a treatment for PMS, agree that cinnamon promotes regular and easy menstruation.
Did you ever notice that after eating a cinnamon-powdered doughnut you can't help but love the whole world? And you thought it was your blood sugar reaching an acceptable level! Cinnamon has been used as a tranquilizer since before Western civilization became civilized (that is to say if it ever did). The source of this sedative effect is the cinnamaldehyde contained in cinnamon powder and, more powerfully, in cinnamon oil, which has been proven to tranquilize both animals and human beings. In some interesting Chinese research, scientists discovered that they were able to neutralize the effects of phenobarbital and methamphetamine in mice with a matching dose of cinnamaldehyde. The same chemical was found to relieve pain in mice. Since overcharged nerves do present a threat to life and, as they say, stress kills, a hot cup of relaxing cinnamon tea may be just what the herbalist ordered.
The folk treatment for bronchial asthma in various parts of Asia, this same cinnamon tea has been found by researchers to stop most sufferers' attacks. More and more, asthma is being linked to emotional upset, and the calming nature of the substance may be at the root of this cure.
In days gone by and even today, a high fever can be the end of you : if nothing else, elevated body temperature can make you feel out of whack. One of the Chinese treatments for fever is a dose of cinnamon, and indeed, research has shown that after being injected with salmonella and typhoid, mice, the poor creatures, had a reduction in temperature when treated with cinnamaldehyde. This may be due to cinnamon's ability to open up the blood vessels. Scientific validation aside, the news to you is that if you have a fever, cinnamon is likely to reduce it.
The world we live in is filled with disease. Let's face it, everywhere you look you see people sneezing and coughing, and usually on you. When you only get two weeks off a year, who wants to spend that precious time in bed watching reruns? The main folk use of cinnamon has been fighting infection, and following the custom of taking it after exposure to an illness in the aim of not getting sick yourself might not be a bad idea.
Here are some facts, not theories, facts. Cinnamon oil has exhibited antifungal, antiviral, bactericidal, and larvicidal activities. Specifically, ingredients in cinnamon kill escherichia coli, staphylococcus aureus, salmonella, the Asian flu virus A, and echo virus. What does this mean? These are all nasty bacteria that can make you exceptionally ill.
Salmonella causes food poisoning, escherichia coli causes Montezuma's revenge, and staphylococcus aureus causes lesions, pustules, and boils that can be terminal if they spread to the organs. Not a pretty picture, but the good news is that cinnamon has been proven to suppress their growth, and the growth of several other gram-positive bacteria.
Not surprisingly, the folk belief that cinnamon can stop bacteria, fungus, and viruses from attacking food or persons is absolutely true. From now on, whenever you come in contact with snot-nosed children harbouring all of the above, have yourself a cup of hot cinnamon tea.
Could there be more from this all-in-one pharmacy plant? Yes. "For pe stomak. Dis driep vp pe ille humoure of pe stomak, and hit comfortep it and strength it." A Middle English translation of a famous Latin herbal called Macer Floridus de viribus herbarum, written somewhere around the ninth century, asserts in its easy-to-read style that cinnamon gets rid of bad things that hang out in the stomach, calms it down, and makes it stronger.
As a stomach remedy, cinnamon hails supreme, and Macer's claim is actually quite in keeping with the research done of late. If your stomach is upset by a bug of sorts, cinnamon will kill it (the bug). If your stomach is all in a knot, cinnamon will relax it. People in the ninth century knew more about cinnamon than we do! And we think of ourselves as so worldly.
You know where to get cinnamon. The plant isn't grown much in the United States, although several locales would suit it fine. A hot-weather plant, it would have to be grown in a greenhouse or in the sunnier parts of the country. Though the plant isn't especially appropriate for the garden, ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks are easy to find in any grocery or health food store. An herbal hint ¨C the best cinnamon comes from the Chinese pharmacist. The extra-good news is that unlike many of our tonic plants, this one actually tastes nice and adds a pleasant flavor to a homemade cure-all.
Cautions & contraindications of Cassia Twig:
Suggestive Dosage:
In Chinese medicine, cinnamon is usually taken in combination with other herbs. Below are some typical dosages for cinnamon alone.
Tincture: Take up to 4 ml with water three times daily.
Tea: Take 1 cup 2¨C3 times daily at mealtimes.
Crushed: Take 1/2 tsp (2¨C4 g) daily.
Precautions and Cautions:
This ingredient is acrid and warm and it strengthens heat. Therefore, it easily damages yin and stirs the blood. This medicinal is contraindicated in warm heat diseases and yin vacuity-yang exuberance conditions, throat problems, or bleeding conditions or in those who habitually have fire internally with a dry mouth and tongue. It should be used cautiously in pregnant women and those with excessively profuse menstrual flow.
Cinnamon bark may cause an allergic reaction in some individuals.
Cinnamon bark is not recommended for pregnant or nursing women.
Do not take essential oil of cinnamon bark internally unless under professional supervision. Internal ingestion may cause nausea, vomiting, and possible kidney damage.
Essential oil of cinnamon bark is one of the most hazardous essential oils and should not be used on the skin. External application of the oil may cause redness and burning of skin.
Cinnamon bark should not be given to children under two years of age.
Cinnamon bark is considered toxic if taken in excess.
Cinnamon bark should not be given to persons with inflammatory liver disease; in large quantities, it can irritate the liver.
Contraindications: febrile diseases, fire hyperactivity due to yin deficiency, bleeding, and pregnancy.
Side effects: Mild side effects include stomach upset, sweating, and diarrhea. Large doses can cause changes in breathing, dilation of blood vessels, sleepiness, depression, or convulsions. Excessive use of cinnamon bark may cause red, tender gums; mouth ulcers; inflamed taste buds; and a severe burning sensation in the mouth.
Interactions: Some interactions with other medications have been reported. Cinnamon oil may cause skin irritation if applied to the skin together with acne medications that contain retinoic acid. Cinnamon bark has also been reported to intensify the effects of medications given to lower blood pressure. Persons taking cinnamon bark should discontinue its use two weeks before any surgery requiring general anesthesia because of the herb's tendency to lower blood pressure.
Safety and Toxicity: LD50 (mice/herb decoction/oral): 624.7mg/kg (administered during day), and 773.6mg/kg (administered at night).
Scientific References:
1.Cinnamomum cassia Presl:the Cassia spice Step from ancient Semitic traders's bags...and after...or...'Spice of spices'?
..space mark...or...Difference...or..Cinnamon...or...spice...or...one.spice.logograph?....
....or...Cassia...or...enigma...or...charm...or...obsess...or...Senna...or...possess...or...logogriph?
...or...DifferAnce...or...Is..or...suspension...or...arche-trace...:
Claims & Warning:
Claims: Information this web site presented is meant for Nutritional Benefit and as an educational starting point only, for use in maintenance and promotion good health in cooperation with a common knowledge base reference...Furthermore,it based solely on the traditional and historic use or legend of a given herb from the garden of Adonis. Although every effort has been made to ensure its accurate, please note that some info may be outdated by more recent scientific developments......
Pharmakon Warning: The order of knowledge is not the transparent order of forms and ideas,as one might be tempted retrospectively to interpret it; it is the antidote....(Dissemination,Plato's Pharmacy,II.The Ingredients:Phantasms,Festivals,and Paints;138cf. Jacques Derrida.).
And as it happens,the technique of imitation,along with the production of the simulacrum,has always been in Plato's eyes manifestly magical,thaumaturgical:......and the same things appear bent and straight to those who view them in water and out,or concave and convex,owing to similar errors of vision about colors, and there is obviously every confusion of this sort in our souls.And so scene painting (skiagraphia) in its exploitation of this weakness of four nature falls nothing short of witchcraft (thaumatopoia), and so do jugglery and many other such contrivances.(Republic X,602c-d;cf.also 607c).
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Serie No.:R024.Basic Data Sheet Download
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seminal trace...Cassia Twig Extract.10:1Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae.CAS.RN.NO:84649-98-9.Synonyms:Cinnamon Extract....
Main constituents of Cassia Twig:
Antiseptic: an agent for inhibiting the growth of microorganism on living tissue or destroying pathogenic or putrefactive bacteria.
Scientific References:
Claims & Warning:
