Page 149 - Pharmacognosy-I (02-06-06-102)

Constituents :

About 1% volatile oil, phlobatanin, mucilage, and starch, oil of
Cinnamon contains about 60-75% of cinnamic aldehyde,
cinnamyl acetate and benzyl benzoate (esters), linalool (an alcohol) .

• Genuine oil also contain 4-10% of phenols chiefly eugenol,
whereas in C. cassia, only a trace quantity of this compound is
found.

• Coumarin is present in C. cassia (0.45%), but not in C. verum.
The oil is liable to adulteration with Cinnamon leaf oil and with oil of
Cassia

1- Cinnamon leaf oil contains 70-95% of eugenol and its alcoholic
solution gives a blue colour with solution of ferric chloride.

2- Oil of Cassia contains about 80-95% of cinnamic aldehyde and a
similar test with ferric chloride gives a brown colour.

Medicinal uses
Uses described in pharmacopoeias and in traditional systems
of medicine

• The treatment of dyspeptic conditions such as mild spastic
conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, fullness and flatulence, and
loss of appetite.

• Also used to treat abdominal pain with diarrhoea, and pain
associated with amenorrhoea and dysmenorrhoea.

-174-