Cinnamon

CINNAMON CINNAMON Common name Cinnamon (E), Ceylon cinnamon (E), Cassia (E), Dalchini (H) Sanskrit Darusita, Twak Latin Cinnamomum zeylanicum/cassia – Cortex (Lauraceae) Twak means ‘skin’ or ‘bark’; the bark of the Cinnamon tree is used in Ayurvedic medicine as a major digestive herb. As a bark protects a tree, Cinnamon protects and strengthens the intestines. ENERGETICS Rasa (taste) Pungent, sweet, astringent Virya (action) Hot Vipaka (post-digestive effect) Sweet Guna (quality) Dry, light, penetrating Dosha effect VK-, P+ Dhatu (tissue) Plasma, blood, muscles, nerves, reproductive Srotas (channels) Digestive, circulatory, respiratory, urinary, nervous, reproductive CONSTITUENTS Tannins Essential oils – cinnamic aldehide, cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate, eugenol, phellandrene Coumarins1 BIO-MEDICAL ACTION Carminative, anti-spasmodic, aromatic, stimulant, astringent, aromatic, expectorant, diaphoretic INDICATIONS Lungs Colds, cough, sinus congestion, bronchitis with excess avalambaka kapha; it clears mucus and encourages the circulation of vata throughout the respiratory system. Use it as a hot decoction to clear ama in fevers by encouraging sweating.2 GIT Cold digestion, slow digestion and mandagni in kapha and vata types. Increases agni and regulates samana vayu to treat flatulence and colic. Can be useful in diarrhoea with loose and watery motions with undigested food in the stool. Cinnamon has an anti-fungal activity and may be used in Candida albicans and imbalanced intestinal flora.3 Circulation Cold extremities, Raynaud’s syndrome, arthritis; Cinnamon stimulates vyana vayu and pushes circulation to the joints. Its warm, dry and light qualities help to clear excess sleshmaka kapha and ama from the joints. These effects can also be of use in cardiac insufficiency with cold extremities, difficulty breathing, fluid accumulation and tiredness.4 Urine Frequent urination; night time urination from cold is treated by Cinnamon’s hot and dry qualities. Its ability to penetrate deep into the tissues coupled with its sweet quality give it an ability to nourish the reproductive system (shukra dhatu) and treat infertility and male impotence. Gynaecology Dysmenorrhoea; excellent anti-spasmodic used 3–4 days prior to period in kaph/vata types. It has an ironic action used to treat both amenorrhoea and menorrhagia as Cinnamon; Its blood invigorating, warming and penetrating properties can be utilised in wet and stagnant conditions in the pelvic cavity; ovarian cysts, fibroids and endometriosis. Its drying astringency comes to the fore if there is uterine bleeding.5 1

Mills, Bone 2003 Frawley and Lad 3 WHO 4 Chen and Chen 5 Paranjpe, Bone 2

© Sebastian Pole 2006

AYURVEDIC ACTION Deepana Increases appetite Amanashak Destroys toxins Hridayam Cardiac tonic Vatahara Reduces aggravated vata Shukrala Increases semen Balya Imparts strength Vatakaphanashak Alleviates vata and kapha COMBINATIONS + Ginger, Cardamom in digestive sluggishness. + Cardamom, Indian bay leaf (or Cloves) it is known as Trikulu or Trijata ‘The Three Aromatics’ used to benefit digestive and respiratory problems. + Arjuna, Turmeric, Guggul for circulatory or cardiac problems. + Pippali, Vasaka, Vamsa lochana in lung congestion. + Myrrh, Turmeric, Ginger, Ashoka in uterine congestion. CONTRAINDICATIONS High pitta. Bleeding signs, especially of the GIT. Caution during pregnancy as it is a uterine stimulant. SAFETY No drug herb interactions are known. Allergic reactions can rarely occur due to cinnamic aldehyde acting as a mucus membrane irritant.6 DOSAGE 1–9g/day or 3–15ml/day of a 1:3 @ 45% tincture. NOTES * The famous ‘quills’ come from the zeylanicum species. This species is called Darusita or Swadutwak ‘the delicious bark’. It is native to Sri Lanka and is more commonly known as Sinhali twak. The making of the quills is a traditional art, where the bark is peeled from coppiced stems. * Cinnamomum cassia mainly comes from China. It comes as broken pieces of bark and is slightly warmer and more astringent than the delicate and sweet zeylanicum quills. * Twak is a very good all round herb for regulating vata; it circulates vata by stimulating vyana vayu. * There are numerous other Cinnamonum species (camphora, burmanni, iners, loureirii, massoia) used medicinally from all over South East Asia. * Tamalapatra (Indian bay leaf) is Cinnamonum tamal. It is a digestive stimulant with a hot quality that is commonly used to reduce vata. Used in Avipattikar churna to balance the digestive fire.

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Bone 2003

© Sebastian Pole 2006