Saturday, March 2, 2013

www.malaysianherbals.com-----Cinnamonum Zeylanicum(61)-கருவாபட்டை

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Cinnamon - 


Beautiful ornamental tree with golden red bark that is dried and is the cinnamon spice. New foliage is deep red, and small white flowers are followed by dark-purple fruit.

Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree. There are many different species, between 50 and 250, depending on which botanist you choose to believe. The two main varieties are Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum zeylanicum. The first, cassia, we will consider separately in its own section. C. zeylanicum is also known as Ceylon cinnamon (the source of the its Latin name, zeylanicum), or ‘true cinnamon’ which is a lighter colour and possessing a sweeter, more delicate flavour than cassia. A native of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) the best cinnamon grows along the coastal strip near Colombo.

In ancient Egypt cinnamon was used medicinally and as a flavouing for beverages, It was also used in embalming, where body cavities were filled with spiced preservatives. In the ancient world cinnamon was more precious than gold. This is not too surprising though, as in Egypt the abundance of gold made it a fairly common ornamental metal. Nero, emperor of Rome in the first century AD, burned a years supply of cinnamon on his wife’s funeral pyre — an extravagant gesture meant to signify the depth of his loss.

It was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for a God: a fine inscription records the gift of cinnamon and cassia to the temple of Apollo at Miletus. Though its source was kept mysterious in the Mediterranean world for centuries by the middlemen who handled the spice trade, to protect their monopoly as suppliers, cinnamon is native to BangladeshSri LankaMalabar Coast of India and Burma.


Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity. It was imported to Egypt as early as 2000 BC, but those who report that it had come from China confuse it with cassia.

Medicinal research


A 2003 study shows benefits of cinnamon in diet of type 2 diabetics: "Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes".
The compound eugenol, a major component of the essential oil from the leaves of the cinnamon tree, has antiviral properties in vitro, specifically against both the HSV-1 and HSV-2 (Oral and Genital Herpes) viruses according to a 2000 study.
A study conducted in 2007 suggests that specific plant terpenoids contained within cinnamon have potent antiviral properties.
Pharmacological experiments suggest that the cinnamon-derived dietary factor cinnamic aldehyde (cinnamaldehyde) activates the Nrf2-dependent antioxidant response in humanepithelial colon cells and may therefore represent an experimental chemopreventive dietary factor targeting colorectal carcinogenesis. Recent research documents anti-melanoma activity of cinnamic aldehyde observed in cell culture and a mouse model of human melanoma.
Cinnamon bark, a component of the traditional Japanese medicine Mao-to, has been shown in a 2008 study published in the Journal of General Virology to have an antiviral therapeutic effect.
A 2011 study isolated a substance (CEppt) in the cinnamon plant that inhibits development of Alzheimer's in mice. CEppt, an extract of cinnamon bark, seems to treat a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.
A 2012 study suggested that cinnamon supplementation is able to significantly improve blood glucose control in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes.
Uses
Cinnamon barkCinnamon bark is widely used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavouring material. It is used in the preparation of chocolate, especially in Mexico, which is the main importer of cinnamon.It is also used in many dessert recipes, such as apple piedoughnuts, and cinnamon buns as well as spicy candiesteahot cocoa, and liqueurs. True cinnamon, rather than cassia, is more suitable for use in sweet dishes. In the Middle East, it is often used in savoury dishes of chicken and lamb. In the United States, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavour cereals, bread-based dishes, and fruits, especially apples; a cinnamon-sugar mixture is even sold separately for such purposes. Cinnamon can also be used in pickling. Cinnamon bark is one of the few spices that can be consumed directly. Cinnamon powder has long been an important spice in Persian cuisine, used in a variety of thick soups, drinks, and sweets. It is often mixed with rosewater or other spices to make a cinnamon-based curry powder for stews or just sprinkled on sweet treats (most notably Shole-zard, Persian شله زرد). It is also used in sambar powder or BisiBelebath powder in Karnataka, which gives it a rich aroma and tastes unique. It is also used in Turkish cuisine for both sweet and savoury dishes.
Cinnamon has been proposed for use as an insect repellent, although it remains untested. Cinnamon leaf oil has been found to be very effective in killing mosquito larvae.Of the compounds found in the essential oil from cinnamon leaves, cinnamyl acetateeugenol, and anethole, and in particular cinnamaldehyde, were found to have the highest effectiveness against mosquito larvae.
Cinnamon, as a warm and dry substance, was believed by doctors in ancient times to cure snakebites, freckles, the common cold, and kidney troubles, among other ailments.Thanks Wikipedia.preview
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