Introduction

Introduction
  • Cinnamon (Cinnamomum yerum Presl. Syn C.zeylanicum Bheme) or sweet wood or true cinnamon (Dalchini or dorchini) or Ceylon cinnamon had been prized for many centuries in the Orient and is one of the earliest known tree spices in India.
  • Cinnamon is famous for its bark and leaves which are strongly aromatic. The bark has a sweet, agreeable taste and contains moisture-9.9%, protein-4.6%, fat-2.2%, fibre-20.3%, carbohydrates-59.5%, total ash-2.5%, calcium-1.6%, phosphorus-0.05%, iron-0.004%, sodium-0.01%, potassium-0.4%, vitamins-(mg/100 g), B1 0.14, B2 0.21, C 39.8, A 175 IU, niacin-1.9, calorific value-355/100 g.
  • The cinnamon bark contains oil, which is light yellow in colour when freshly distilled. On storage, it becomes reddish coloured. The bark oil contains mainly cinnamic aldehyde (60-75%), eugenol (10%), etc. The leaf oil has a slight camphoraceous odour similar to clove oil due to the presence of 70-95% eugenol. The bark, either as small pieces or powder, is extensively used as spice or condiment. It is aromatic, astringent, stimulant and carminative.
  • It possesses the property of checking nausea and acts as an anti-emetic. Powdered cinnamon is a constituent in chocolate preparation in Spain. It is also used for flavouring cakes and sweets, candy, gum, curry powders, incenses, dentifrices and perfumes. The leaf oil is used in the manufacture of some cheaper types of perfumes, soaps, toothpastes, hair oils and face creams.
  • It is used commercially as an agent for flavouring liquor, and also in the synthesis of vanillin. In the flavouring industry, it is used as a modifer. The cinnamon buds are as good for flavouring and spicing like the bark itself. Cinnamon wood provides a soft timber for use as a low-grade board wood. The root bark also yields 3% oil, which differs from both the stem-bark and leaf oil.
  • It is a colourless liquid with a camphoraceous odour. It contains camphor, pinene, cineole, dipentene, phellandrene, eugenol, safrole, caryophyllene, borneol and cinnamic and benzoic aldehydes. The seeds contain 3% fixed oil, used for making candles. The seed oil is also called 'cinnamon suet' and is obtained by boiling the crushed ripe fruits, suspended in water. The oleaginous matter rises to the surface and solidifies on cooling.
  • The bark oil obtained from the matured stems is very little and expensive in comparison to the cost of its extraction. It is used in costly perfumes, for flavouring confectionery, in liquors and in pharmaceuticals, especially to mask the unpleasant taste of certain preparations and in soap manufacture. In addition, the true cinnamon of commerce cassia is obtained from various sources like C. cassia, (True cassia or Chinese cassia) C. burmanni, (Indonesian cassia) and C. lourneirii (Saigon cassia) and C. tama/a (Indian cassia). The other economically important species include C. cam phora, C. oliven and C. malabaricum.
Last modified: Friday, 9 March 2012, 11:43 AM