Cinnamon

Origin:

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum, and

Cinnamon cassia), the eternal tree of tropical
medicine,belongstotheLauraceaefamily.
()
Active Constituent:

Cinnamon primarily contains vital oils and

other derivatives, such as cinnamaldehyde,
cinnamicacid,andcinnamate.
Uses:

Inadditiontobeinganantioxidant,anti
inflammatory,
antidiabetic,antimicrobial,anticancer,lipid
lowering,andcardiovasculardiseaselowering
compound,cinnamonhasalsobeen
reportedtohaveactivitiesagainstneurological

disorders,suchasParkinsonsandAlzheimers
diseases.
11. Cardiovascular Diseases

One of the active components isolated from C.

cassianamed 2methoxycinnamaldehyde (2
MCA) decreases the expression( ) of
vascular cell adhesion molecule1 (VCAM1) in
TNFactivated endothelial cells, suggesting that
ischemia/reperfusion( / )
(I/R) injury is ameliorated( ) due to the
induction( )ofhemeoxygenase(HO)1
[123].Arecentstudyreportedthepotentialeffects
of two compounds, cinnamic aldehyde and
cinnamic acid, isolated from C. cassiaagainst
myocardialischemia()[1
24],indicatingthatcinnamonalsohasthepotential
tobeusedtotreatcardiovasculardiseases.
Severalstudieshavereportedtheprotectiveeffects
of cinnamaldehyde on the cardiovascular system.
Cinnamophilin is one of the important lignans
isolated from C. philippinensisand has been
confirmed to have thromboxane A2 (TXA2)

receptorblockingactivity(
)in
rats as well as in guinea pigs( ) [125].
Cinnamophilin acts as a potential thromboxane
synthase inhibitor and TXA2receptor antagonist
and may be helpful when incorporated in the
treatment of diseases involving TXA2disorders
[125], such as platelet aggregation [126] and
cancers [127]. (

)
Cinnamophilin mainly inhibits thromboxane
receptormediated()vascularsmoothmuscle
cellproliferationandmayhavethepotentialforuse
in the prevention of vascular diseases and
atherosclerosis([)128].
Cinnamaldehyde produces hypotensive( )
effects,whicharepossiblymainlyduetoperipheral
vasodilatation in anesthetized dogs( )
and guinea pigs( ) [129]. The
vasodilatationinducedbycinnamaldehydeindogs
lastedandremainedovertherecoveryperiodofthe
fall in blood pressure to the baseline(


) [130].Arecentstudyshowedthat
cinnamaldehyde expands rat vascular smooth
muscle in an endotheliumindependent manner.
The ability of cinnamaldehyde in vasodilatory
function may be because it impedes ( ) both
Ca2+influx( ) and Ca2+release [131
Cinnamaldehyde averts( ) the progress(
)ofhypertensionintypes1and2diabetesby
abridging( ) vascular contractility(), in
addition to its insulinotropic(
)effectininsulindeficiency[132].
References
122. S. Bhattacharjee, T. Rana, and A. Sengupta, Inhibition of lipid
peroxidation and enhancement of GST activity by cardamom and
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123. J. S. Hwa, Y. C. Jin, Y. S. Lee et al., 2-Methoxycinnamaldehyde
from Cinnamomum cassia reduces rat myocardial ischemia and
reperfusion
injury in
vivo due
to
HO-1
induction, Journal
of
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124. F. Song, H. Li, J. Sun, and S. Wang, Protective effects of cinnamic acid
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