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| Latin Names |
English Names |
Sanskrit Name |
Hindi Name |
Cinnamomum verum Presl
/ Cinnamomum zeylanicum
Blume (Lauraceae) |
Cinnamon,
Ceylon Cinnamon |
Tvak |
Dalchini |
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| Habitat |
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The tree is native
to Sri Lanka and is cultivated in South India for its aromatic bark.
It is also found to a limited extent in eastern India.
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| Morphology
Description (Habit) |
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 It
is a moderate sized tree. The bark is smooth, light pinkish brown
and thin, with a strong, pleasant smell and spicy, burning taste.
The leaves are opposite or sub-opposite, glabrous, thinly to stiffly
coriaceous and oval to lanceolate; the flowers are yellowish green,
in axillary panicles; the fruits are ellipsoid to oblong-ovoid and
dark purple. The bark constitutes the Cinnamon of commerce.
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| Principal
Constituents |
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It contains a significant
amount of a mucilaginous substance, which consists mainly of a water
extractable L-arabino-D-xylan and an alkali-extractable D-glucan.
The bark also contains the diterpenes, cinnzeylanin and cinnzeylanol
besides tannins1.
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| Pharmacology |
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The bark is reported
to have shown mutagenic activity in rec -assay in Bacillus subtilis
(Ehrenb.) Cohn strains H17 and M45. Thus it may have associated carcinogenic
action. The dried bark in the crude form, its water-heated and water-macerated
residues, and petroleum ether and chloroform extracts, showed mutagenic
activity, whereas water-heated and water-macerated filtrates did not
show the activity. In another study, the petroleum ether and chloroform
extracts showed a cytotoxic effect on the stable monolayer cell lines
from a human mouth carcinoma, and also on the stable suspension cell
lines from a mouse lymphoid leukemia2.
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| Indications |
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Externally the bark
is used in neuralgia, rheumatism and toothache. It is aromatic, astringent,
stimulant, expectorant and carminative. The oil from the bark shows
potent antibacterial and anti-fungal activity.
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| Product
Range |
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Koflet lozenge (CoughCare
lozenge), Rumalaya gel, Cough Syrup, Rumalaya
Vet, Chyavanaprasha.
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| Reference |
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- Chugtai & Khan, 18; Gowda & Sarthy, Carbohydrate Res,
1987, 166, 263; Kya & Min, Union Burma J Life Sci , 1970,
3, 197; Isogai et. al., Agric biol Chem , 1976, 40, 2305;
1977, 41, 1779.
- Ungsurungsie et. al., Food chem Toxicol, 1982, 20, 527;
1984, 22, 109; Chulasiri et. al., Int J Crude Drug Res,
1984, 22, 177.
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