Cinnamon Could Interact With Your Medications: Scientists Warn!

Cinnamon is known for its spicy taste as it contains natural chemicals that may affect your health and impact metabolism. Cinnamon and its key components like cinnamon oil and cinnamaldehyde, are gaining attention for both their flavor and potential biological effects.

Cinnamaldehyde: The main active ingredient of cinnamon, this compound gives the aroma along with health benefits.

A recent study conducted by the scientists from the University of Mississippi and the University of Milan analyzed how cinnamaldehyde acts in the human body, and their findings give an important message for cinnamon lovers.

Cinnamaldehyde Is Easily Absorbed

According to the findings, cinnamaldehyde is highly bioavailable (100% bioaccessible) in all tested conditions; whether you’ve eaten a meal or not. This means your body readily absorbs cinnamaldehyde from cinnamon oil or supplements.

Fast Metabolism: From Cinnamaldehyde to Cinnamic Acid

The conversion of cinnamaldehyde to cinnamic acid occurs in the liver within minutes. This transformation was studied in lab experiments simulating human liver function.

Impact on Key Body Systems:

Furthermore, the study also explains the interaction of cinnamaldehyde and cinnamon oil with the following xenobiotic receptors.

• PXR (Pregnane X Receptor):

  Cinnamon oil and cinnamic acid (but not cinnamaldehyde itself) mildly activated this receptor, which controls the way our body responds to medicines and other chemicals.

• AhR (Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor):

  This receptor is strongly activated by cinnamon oil. However, high dose exposure of cinnamon oil to AhR receptor can lead to changes in the drug-metabolizing enzymes, mainly CYP isoforms.

Potential for Herb-Drug Interactions:

It was observed that cinnamon oil and cinnamaldehyde slightly inhibited certain liver enzymes like CYP2C9 and CYP1A2 that are responsible for metabolizing drugs. If taken in excess, this may result in interactions between the herb and medications.

What You Should Know About This :

You can safely consume cinnamon in your tea, cookies, or breakfast.

Over time, using extremely high doses of cinnamon oil supplements may result in unintended drug interactions, particularly if you are on medication or have long-term health conditions like hypertension, asthma, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

To completely understand the hazards of daily use, more clinical study is still required.

Conclusion:

Enjoy cinnamon as part of a balanced diet, but use caution with concentrated supplements. If you intend to use supplements containing cinnamon oil, especially if you are taking medication, consult your doctor.

References:

1. Islam Husain; Bill J. Gurley; Hari Babu Kothapalli; Yan-Hong Wang; Larissa Della Vedova ; Amar G. Chittiboyina; Ikhlas A. Khan; Shabana I. Khan; Evaluation of bioaccessibility, metabolic clearance and interaction with xenobiotic receptors (PXR and AhR) of cinnamaldehyde. Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences, Volume 10, June 2025, 100237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fochms.2024.100237

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Farhath Sulthana/MSM)