Cinnamaldehyde

Cinnamaldehyde is an aldehyde found in cassia, and cinnamon.  Excessive amounts can cause liver toxicity.

Aldehydes have a powerful aroma used in perfumery.  Oxidation (exposure to oxygen) causes potential skin irritation and loss of aroma.

Links to Plants Containing Cinnamaldehyde

Cinnamon

RESEARCH

The listings of research below represent a compilation of scientific articles found on the topic, with a very brief overview description of each article/study.  This compilation of research articles does not necessarily imply that there are adequate results to demonstrate safe and/or effective human use of any herb listed.

INSECTICIDAL / REPELLENT

• Cinnamomum cassia Blume bark and cinnamaldehyde were effective against Aedes aegypti.  From:  Chang, K. S., Tak, J. H., Kim, S. I., Lee, W. J., & Ahn, Y. J. (2006). Repellency of Cinnamomum cassia bark compounds and cream containing cassia oil to Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) under laboratory and indoor conditions. Pest management science, 62(11), 1032-1038.
• Cinnamaldehyde and eugenol had an antibacterial effects against Paenibacillus larvae, a pest that affects honeybees.  From:  Gende, Liesel Brenda, et al. “Antimicrobial activity of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) essential oil and its main components against Paenibacillus larvae from Argentine.” Bulletin of insectology 61.1 (2008): 1.

ANTIMICROBIAL / ANTIBACTERIAL / ANTIFUNGAL / ANTIVIRAL

• This article summarized antimicrobial research on essential oils with strong research on topical and antiseptic uses, as penetration enhancers, and in fighting medicine resistant species.  From:  Solórzano-Santos, F., & Miranda-Novales, M. G. (2012). Essential oils from aromatic herbs as antimicrobial agents. Current opinion in biotechnology, 23(2), 136-141.
• This mega analysis reviewed studies of essential oils as antibacterials in food.  Several effective constituents included carvacrol, thymol, eugenol, perillaldehyde, cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid.  They have minimum inhibitory concentrations with some having synergism such as carvacrol and p-cymene, cinnamaldehyde and eugenol, and between EO components and mild preservation methods.  From:  Burt, S. (2004). Essential oils: their antibacterial properties and potential applications in foods—a review. International journal of food microbiology, 94(3), 223-253.
• Antibacterial abilities of 96 essential oils and their constituents were assessed. Marigold, ginger, jasmine, patchouli, gardenia, cedarwood, carrot seed, celery seed, mugwort, spikenard, and orange bitter oils along with the constituents of cinnamaldehyde, estragole, carvacrol, benzaldehyde, citral, thymol, eugenol, perillaldehyde, carvone R, and geranyl acetate were strongest against C. jejuni.  Those most active against E. coli were oregano, thyme, cinnamon, palmarosa, bay leaf, clove bud, lemon grass, and allspice oils and the constituents: carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde, thymol, eugenol, salicylaldehyde, geraniol, isoeugenol, citral, perillaldehyde, and estragole.  Those most active against L. monocytogenes were gardenia, cedarwood, bay leaf, clove bud, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, thyme, and patchouli and the constituents of cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, thymol, carvacrol, citral, geraniol, perillaldehyde, carvone S, estragole, and salicylaldehyde.  Those most active against S. enterica were thyme, oregano, cinnamon, clove bud, allspice, bay leaf, palmarosa, and marjoram oils as well as thymol, cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, eugenol, salicylaldehyde, geraniol, isoeugenol, terpineol, perillaldehyde, and estragole.  From:  Friedman, M., Henika, P. R., & Mandrell, R. E. (2002). Bactericidal activities of plant essential oils and some of their isolated constituents against Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica. Journal of Food Protection®, 65(10), 1545-1560.
• Cinnamaldehyde, piperidine, citral, furfuraldehyde and indole were potent candida inhibitors.  From:  Rajput, S. B., & Karuppayil, S. M. (2013). Small molecules inhibit growth, viability and ergosterol biosynthesis in Candida albicans. SpringerPlus, 2(1), 1.
• Cinnamon and its cinnamaldehyde constituent have antifungal properties.  From:  Wang, S. Y., Chen, P. F., & Chang, S. T. (2005). Antifungal activities of essential oils and their constituents from indigenous cinnamon (Cinnamomum osmophloeum) leaves against wood decay fungi. Bioresource technology, 96(7), 813-818.
• This study explained the antibacterial action of cinnamon and its major component, trans-cinnamaldehyde.  From:  Meades, G., Henken, R. L., Waldrop, G. L., Rahman, M. M., Gilman, S. D., Kamatou, G. P., … & Gibbons, S. (2010). Constituents of cinnamon inhibit bacterial acetyl CoA carboxylase. Planta medica, 76(14), 1570-1575.
• C. osmophloeum leaf essential oil and cinnamaldehyde were effective against 9 tested bacteria and could be used for medical purposes and as anti-bacterial additives in paper products.  From:  Chang, S. T., Chen, P. F., & Chang, S. C. (2001). Antibacterial activity of leaf essential oils and their constituents from Cinnamomum osmophloeum.  Journal of ethnopharmacology, 77(1), 123-127.
• Origanum vulgare, Satureja montana, Mentha piperita, Cinnamomum verum, and Cymbopogon flexuosus along with the  pure constituents (by family) of , β-phellandrene, carvacrol, 1-decanol, and trans-cynnamaldehyde.  From:  Tampieri, M. P., Galuppi, R., Macchioni, F., Carelle, M. S., Falcioni, L., Cioni, P. L., & Morelli, I. (2005). The inhibition of Candida albicans by selected essential oils and their major components. Mycopathologia, 159(3), 339-345.
• The antimicrobial activity of of thymol, carvacrol, limonene, cinnamaldehyde, and eugenol were assessed.  From:  Di Pasqua, R., Hoskins, N., Betts, G., & Mauriello, G. (2006). Changes in membrane fatty acids composition of microbial cells induced by addiction of thymol, carvacrol, limonene, cinnamaldehyde, and eugenol in the growing media. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 54(7), 2745-2749.
• Cinnamon bark essential oil and its cinnamaldehyde constituent were antibacterial agains the oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivitis. From: Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Shi, Y. Q., Pan, X. H., Lu, Y. H., & Cao, P. (2018). Antibacterial effects of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) bark essential oil on Porphyromonas gingivalis. Microbial pathogenesis, 116, 26-32.
• Cinnamaldehyde showed in vitro and in vivo antiviral activity against influenza growth. From: Hayashi, K., Imanishi, N., Kashiwayama, Y., Kawano, A., Terasawa, K., Shimada, Y., & Ochiai, H. (2007). Inhibitory effect of cinnamaldehyde, derived from Cinnamomi cortex, on the growth of influenza A/PR/8 virus in vitro and in vivo. Antiviral Research, 74(1), 1-8.

ANTI-CANCER

• The anticancer effect of cinnamaldehyde was studied related to apoptosis in human leukemia cells.  From:  Ka, H., Park, H. J., Jung, H. J., Choi, J. W., Cho, K. S., Ha, J., & Lee, K. T. (2003). Cinnamaldehyde induces apoptosis by ROS-mediated mitochondrial permeability transition in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. Cancer letters, 196(2), 143-152.
• Cinnamaldehyde induces apoptosis in cancer cells.  From:  Han, D. C., Lee, M. Y., Shin, K. D., Jeon, S. B., Kim, J. M., Son, K. H., … & Kwon, B. M. (2004). 2′-benzoyloxycinnamaldehyde induces apoptosis in human carcinoma via reactive oxygen species. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 279(8), 6911-6920.
• This study determines how cinnamaldehyde triggers apoptosis in cancer cells.  From: Wu, S. J., Ng, L. T., & Lin, C. C. (2005). Cinnamaldehyde-induced apoptosis in human PLC/PRF/5 cells through activation of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins and MAPK pathway. Life Sciences, 77(8), 938-951.
• Cinnamaldehyde cytotoxicity may be useful in cancer therapies. From:  Chew, E. H., Nagle, A. A., Zhang, Y., Scarmagnani, S., Palaniappan, P., Bradshaw, T. D., … & Westwell, A. D. (2010). Cinnamaldehydes inhibit thioredoxin reductase and induce Nrf2: potential candidates for cancer therapy and chemoprevention. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 48(1), 98-111.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

• Nuclear factor is a transcription factor regulating the expression of inflammatory and immune genes. Cinnamomum cassia was discovered to have an inhibitory effect on nuclear factor transcriptional activity  From:  Reddy, A. M., Seo, J. H., Ryu, S. Y., Kim, Y. S., Kim, Y. S., Min, K. R., & Kim, Y. (2004). Cinnamaldehyde and 2-methoxycinnamaldehyde as NF-κB inhibitors from Cinnamomum cassia. Planta medica, 70(09), 823-827.
• Cinnamaldehyde demonstrated anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory properties.  From:  Chao, L. K., Hua, K. F., Hsu, H. Y., Cheng, S. S., Lin, I. F., Chen, C. J., … & Chang, S. T. (2008). Cinnamaldehyde inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion from monocytes/macrophages through suppression of intracellular signaling. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 46(1), 220-231.

RESPIRATORY HEALTH

• Cinnamon bark oil and cinamic aldehyde were an effective inhalable vapor for treating fungi involved in respiratory tract mycoses: Aspergillus niger, A. fumigatus, A. nidulans, A. flavus, Candida albicans, C. tropicalls, C. pseudotropicalis, and Histoplasma capsulatum.  From:  Singh, H. B., Srivastava, M., Singh, A. B., & Srivastava, A. K. (1995). Cinnamon bark oil, a potent fungitoxicant against fungi causing respiratory tract mycoses. Allergy, 50(12), 995-999.

PRESERVATIVE

• Essential oils of cilantro, coriander, cinnamon, oregano, rosemary, sage, clove, thyme, lemongrass, turmeric, mint, basil, and constituents of linalool, cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, thymol, terpinene, cymene, alpha/beta pinene, bornyl acetate, camphor, 1,8-cineole, alpha terpeneol, geraniol, perrilaldehyde, and eugenol have demonstrated food preserving potential.  From:  Burt, S. (2004). Essential oils: their antibacterial properties and potential applications in foods—a review. International journal of food microbiology, 94(3), 223-253.

ANTI-DIABETIC

• Cinnamaldehyde has hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects in diabetic rats.  From:  Babu, P. S., Prabuseenivasan, S., & Ignacimuthu, S. (2007). Cinnamaldehyde—a potential antidiabetic agent. Phytomedicine, 14(1), 15-22.
• Cinnamaldehyde showed an antidiabetic effect in rats.  From:  Anand, P., Murali, K. Y., Tandon, V., Murthy, P. S., & Chandra, R. (2010). Insulinotropic effect of cinnamaldehyde on transcriptional regulation of pyruvate kinase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and GLUT4 translocation in experimental diabetic rats. Chemico-biological interactions, 186(1), 72-81.

ORAL HEALTH

• Cinnamon bark essential oil and its cinnamaldehyde constituent were antibacterial agains the oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivitis. From: Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Shi, Y. Q., Pan, X. H., Lu, Y. H., & Cao, P. (2018). Antibacterial effects of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) bark essential oil on Porphyromonas gingivalis. Microbial pathogenesis, 116, 26-32.

ANALGESIC

• Essential oil constituents with an analgesic activity are reviewed. Included are p-cymene, carvacrol, linalool, eugenol, menthol, alpha-bisabolol, cinnamaldehyde, citronellal, citronellol, citronellyl acetate, alpha-phelandrene, alpha-terpeneol, vanillin, borneol, myrtenol, pulegone, citral, thymol, limonene, nerol, anethole, nerolidol, carvone, farnesol, and beta-caryphyllene. From: Lima, T., da Nóbrega, F., de Brito, A., & de Sousa, D. (2017). Analgesic-like activity of essential oil constituents: an update. International journal of molecular sciences, 18(12), 2392.

Compiled by: Kathy Sadowski

Last Updated: 2/19/2020