The genus Cinnamomum

Cinnamon – in perfumes and beauty care
End Uses of Cinnamon and Cassia 319
Cinnamon bark oil is used to impart a woody and musky undertone to perfumes.
However, the use of bark oil in the perfume industry is limited since it has a skin
sensitising property. Cinnamon bark oil is highly irritant and is therefore not
used widely in this way. Occupational allergic contact dermatitis is occasionally
observed among those who work with this spice (Kanerva et al., 1996). It is also
used to impart fragrance to soaps, flavour dentifrices and mouthwashes. Leaf oil is
also used in the perfume industry, as it imparts fragrance to soaps and other such
toiletries.
Cinnamon is very useful in beauty care. It is a useful cure for acne, headaches, lumps
and pustules when applied as a facial pack mixed with clove and pepper (Bhandari,
1987). A medicinal formulation for treating acne (Sepi control A5) contains cinnamon
bark powder mixed with lipoglycine. This product is reported to have high acne curing
activity, resulting in clear, less oily skins. The product has high hypo-allergeric action
and excellent skin tolerance (Stoltz, 1998).
Cinnamon – an antimicrobial agent
Salt and spice have played very significant roles in preventing food spoilage caused
by microorganisms. Cinnamon, like many other spices, possesses antiseptic and antimicrobial
properties. In vitro studies showed that the bark extracts were active against
27 strains of Vibrio cholerae and were also a good antibacterial agent for Shigella and
V. cholerae infections (Islam et al., 1990). The ground spice of cinnamon also exhibited
bacteriostatic effects against Yersinia enterocolitica (Bara and Vanetti, 1995). Bullerman
(1974) noticed that cinnamon bread did not get mould growth, unlike other breads.
The effect of ground cinnamon on growth and aflatoxin production by Aspergillus
parasiticus is given in Table 13.11. The addition of 0.02% cinnamon powder suppressed
aflatoxin production to 21–25%. Cinnamon bread usually contains 0.5–1.0%
cinnamon, indicating that mould growth and aflatoxin production should be almost
completely inhibited. The result was further confirmed in experiments involving alcohol
extracts of cinnamon where 0.2% extract was shown to cause 98–99% suppression
of toxin production.
Table 13.11 Effect of ground cinnamon on growth and aflatoxin production by Aspergillus parasiticus
Level of Strain NRRL 2999 Strain NRRL 3000
cinnamon Mycelia Inhibition Aflatoxin Inhibition Mycelia Inhibition Aflatoxin Inhibition
mg % g/ml % mg % g/ml %
Control 2301 – 356 – 1896 – 292.0 –
0.02 1943 16 267 25 1959 (3) 232.0 21.0
0.2 1768 23 148 58 1557 18 49.0 83.0
2.0 1589 31 11 97 1658 13 2.0 99.0
20.0 ND 100 ND 100 100 95 0.3 99.9
Source: Hirasa and Takemasa, 1998.
Note
ND: Not detected.