TRADITIONAL INDIAN HERBS CINNAMON ZEYLANICUM AND ITS HEALTH BENEFITS

Cinnamon has been used to alleviate indigestion, stomach cramps, intestinal spasms, nausea, and flatulence, and to improve the appetite, and treat diarrhea. A number of additional medicinal properties have been reported for cinnamon. In folk medicine it was used for treating rheumatism and other inflammations. Its mild anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, and anti-clotting properties are believed to be due to its content of cinnamaldehyde. Cinnamon extracts are active against Candida albicans, the fungus responsible for vaginal yeast infection, and also Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium responsible for stomach ulcers. The antimicrobial properties of cinnamon are thought to be due to eugenol and a derivative of cinnamaldehyde. Cinnamon extracts have also inhibited the growth of cultured tumor cells. This effect may be due to the presence of procyanidins and eugenol in the bark extract. Cinnamon is also useful as a food preservative to inhibit the growth of common food-borne bacteria such as Salmonella and E coli.Cinnamon is highly beneficial in the treatment of several other ailments, including spasmodic afflictions, asthma, paralysis, excessive menstruation, uterus disorders and gonnorhoea. It is sometimes used as a prophylactic agent, to control German measles. 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’s 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.