A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON CINNAMOMUM ZEYLANICUM AND ITS VARIETAL DIVERSITY

Abstract

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark or flower of a plant or an herb used in small quantities for flavor, color or as a preservative. The spices and Herbs used for flavor, aroma and medicinal properties derive a special value from the said factors. Long before modern medicine, spices were valued for their ability to help individuals in disease prevention and health promotion. Various civilizations relied on herbs and spices for both food and medicine. Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of trees belonging to the family ‘Lauraceae’ and genus ‘Cinnamomum’. Cinnamon is found widely in Sri Lanka but also distributed in South and South-East Asia. This study was carried out to give an overview on Cinnamon, to differentiate the varieties of Cinnamon in the view of therapeutic and commercial purposes and to review the recent scientific evidences phytochemical and pharmacological studies systematically. There are over 250 plant species in the cinnamon genus. But only 4 types or varieties of Cinnamon are used for commercial purposes. Such as, Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamon zeylanicum Blume.), Cassia cinnamon (Cinnamomum aromaticum), Korintje cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmanni) and Saigon cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureiroi). Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume), a variety native to Sri Lanka, sometimes referred to "true" cinnamon" globally, is one of the oldest and most important spice crops used for culinary purposes in Sri Lanka for centuries. With the exception of Ceylon Cinnamon, Cassia, Saigon and Korintje Cinnamon are also classified under the Cassia Cinnamon category because they are very similar to each other with only slight variations in color, taste, shape and Coumarin content. All Cassia type Cinnamon are hard and have high levels of Coumarin a substance known to cause liver damage, while Ceylon Cinnamon is the only soft and brittle Cinnamon with ultra-low Coumarin levels. Phytochemical evidences suggest major constituents found in Cinnamon are cinnamaldehyde, linalool, β-caryophyllene, eucalyptol, and eugenol. Pharmacological evidences suggest Cinnamon possess pharmacological activities such as Anti-hyperglycemic, Anti-hyperlipidemic, Anti-inflammatory activity, Anti-microbial and Anti-oxidant activities.