Cinnamon
Cinnamomum verum(?)
Other names: Cinnamon
Edible plantPhoto credit: Wikimedia Commons contributor
This plant carries serious safety risks. All information is for educational reference only.
Safety information
Toxicity: Mild — occasional allergy; large doses may lower blood sugar excessively; cassia high in coumarins (liver caution at high intake). | Cassia cinnamon is high in coumarin, hepatotoxic at high intake — regular high consumption of cassia (not Ceylon) can exceed tolerable coumarin limits. Ceylon (C. verum) is very low in coumarin.
Contraindications: Essential oil not for internal use. | Liver disease and high-dose supplement use (coumarin, cassia); pregnancy (medicinal amounts).
Interactions: Caution alongside blood-sugar-lowering drugs (additive). | Coumarin is not the anticoagulant warfarin, but caution with hepatotoxic drugs at high cassia intake; possible additive glucose-lowering.
Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Pregnancy (medicinal amounts).
Evidence level
Supported by clinical trials in humans.
Preparations
This plant carries serious safety risks. All information is for educational reference only.
tincture/powder · inner bark
Part used: inner bark
Traditional use: digestive, blood-sugar
infusion / extract · bark
Part used: bark
Traditional use: supplement
essential oil (external) · inner bark
Part used: inner bark
Traditional use: antimicrobial/antifungal topical
Dosage note (descriptive only): not for internal use
Reference only — not a dosage instruction
spice (powder/stick) · inner bark
Part used: inner bark
Traditional use: warming digestive; blood-glucose/lipids interest
Proposed mechanism: cinnamaldehyde, proanthocyanidins
Dosage note (descriptive only): cassia high in coumarin (hepatotoxic at high intake); prefer Ceylon
Reference only — not a dosage instruction
infusion · inner bark
Part used: inner bark
Traditional use: warming remedy for colds/flu, convalescence; nausea, indigestion, flatulence, colic, diarrhoea; period cramps; blood-sugar support
Proposed mechanism: improves insulin response, stabilizes blood sugar
Associated conditions
Edibility
Edible parts: common culinary spice (bark) | Bark as spice.
Toxic lookalike warning
Key issue is species substitution, not a wild lookalike: cheaper cassia is widely sold as cinnamon but carries coumarin hepatotoxicity risk — seek labelled Ceylon (C. verum) for regular high use.
Nutritional notes
Spice; antioxidant phenolics. | Cinnamaldehyde, proanthocyanidins, manganese; functional spice (glucose interest).
Healing traditions
Sources (3)
- Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (book, p.81) — Andrew Chevallier, English, 2016
- EFSA/food-safety coumarin assessments for cassia cinnamon
- clinical meta-analyses of cinnamon and glycaemic control