Cinnamon: A Common Medicinal Spice

Cinnamon is the dried inner bark of stems of Cinnamomum zeylanicum belonging to the family Lauraceae. It is extensively used as spice since centuries worldwide. Apart from this it has been widely used for different medicinal purposes in Unani as well as Ayurveda system of medicine. Its trees are widely distributed throughout Sri Lanka, south-western India and Burma. It has been used in traditional systems of medicine for the treatment of various diseases like epilepsy, hemiplegia, chronic bronchitis, asthma, jaundice, skin and gastrointestinal disorders etc. The qualitative phytochemical analysis of the plant extracts shows the presence of essential oils, tannins and mucilage. Recent pharmacological and clinical studies revealed its antibacterial, antifungal, antitumour, immunomodulatory, wound healing and anti-inflammatory activities. This review is an effort to summarize the detailed prospects of ancient literature on C. zeylanicum along with modern researches.