Cinnamon and its effects on chronic diseases
What it found
Cinnamon contains compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antimicrobial and anticancer effects, and recent trials have explored its benefits in Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, arthritis and arteriosclerosis.
The authors say more clinical evidence is still needed.
What they found
Studies in people
Trials in people
Many recent trials have explored the beneficial effects of cinnamon in Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, arthritis and arteriosclerosis.
Other findings
What cinnamon contains
Cinnamon contains a lot of manganese, iron, dietary fiber and calcium. It also contains cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, cinnamate, polyphenols and other components.
Effects studied
Cinnamon has been reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antimicrobial and anticancer effects. These have been studied in bark, essential oils, bark powder and phenolic compounds.
What the authors conclude
“Recently, many trials have explored the beneficial effects of cinnamon in Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, arthritis, and arteriosclerosis, but still we need further investigations to provide additional clinical evidence for this spice against cancer and inflammatory, cardioprotective, and neurological disorders.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say further investigations are still needed to provide additional clinical evidence for cinnamon against cancer and inflammatory, cardioprotective and neurological disorders.
How it was done
Cinnamon is one of the most important spices used daily by people all over the world, and its many properties could play a key role in human health.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The paper does not report how many people were in the trials, how long they lasted or what doses were used.
- It also does not give the results of those trials.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran
The paper
- Title
- Cinnamon and Chronic Diseases
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Hariri M, Ghiasvand R (2016). Cinnamon and Chronic Diseases. Advances in experimental medicine and biology. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-41342-6_1PubMed 27771918DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error