Botanical Name: Cinnamomum verum
Family Name: Lauraceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Laurales
Family: Lauraceae
Genus: Cinnamomum
Species: C. verum
Popular Names: Tvak, Dalchini, Daruchini Karuva, Vazhana, Tamalapatra
Part Used: Bark
Habitat: Indigenous to India and Sri Lanka
Description
Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree. The cinnamon trees are about 10 to 15 metres high. The light brown, papery bark and leathery leaves are ovate-oblong in shape, with a length of 7 to 18 cm. The green flowers are arranged in panicles and have a distinct odour. The tree bears purple berries with a single seed. Cinnamon has a fragrant perfume and a sweet and aromatic taste. The tree is native to Sri Lanka, but grows plentifully in Malabar, Cochin, China, Sumatra, Eastern Islands, Brazil, Mauritius, India and Jamaica. The spice is known as dal-chini, darchini or dhall cheene in Hindi and karuvappadai in Tamil.
Plant Chemicals
(+)- cinnamaldehyde (65-80%), lesser percentages of other phenols and terpenes, eugenol, trans-cinnamic acid, hydroxycinnamaldehyde, o-methoxy-cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl alcohol and its acetate, limonene, alpha-terpineol, tannins, mucilage, oligomeric procyanidins, gum, mannitol, trace amounts of coumarin.
Uses and Benefits of Cinnamon
- Since it is delicate in flavour, cinnamon is used in dessert dishes.
- It is widely used in cakes and other baked recipe, along with milk and rice puddings, chocolate dishes and fruit desserts, especially apples and pears.
- The spice is used in Indian curries and forms a part of the garam masala.
- Cinnamon is also used to spice mulled wines, creams and syrups.
- Consuming half teaspoon of the spice each day helps reduce blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels by as much as 20%.
- It is used to treat nausea, flatulence and diarrhoea.
- Chewing and swallowing a small pinch of powdered cinnamon is helpful in treating cough accompanied by the spitting of whitish phlegm. The remedy is also helpful to people having cold feet and hands at night.
- The spice is significant in treating the loss of appetite and indigestion.
- It is used in flatulent dyspepsia, dyspepsia with nausea, intestinal colic and digestive atony associated with cold and debilitated conditions.
- Cinnamon helps relieve vomiting, due to its mild astringency.
- The spice has the ability to stop medication-resistant yeast infections.
- It reduces the proliferation of leukaemia and lymphoma cancer cells.
- Cinnamon has an anti-clotting effect on blood.
- Smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory.
- People suffering from arthritis should be given half a teaspoonful of cinnamon powder, mixed with one tablespoonful of honey every morning, before breakfast. It relieves the pain and the patient becomes capable of walking without pain within one month.
- The spice is commonly used in Middle Eastern and North African dishes for flavouring lamb tagines or stuffed aubergines.
- In Mexico, cinnamon is often drunk with coffee and chocolate and brewed as a tea
Cautions
Cinnamon should not be consumed by women who are still breastfeeding their children.
The spice is known to cause unwanted effects in sensitive individuals.
It can prove to be toxic, if taken in large doses.
