Gui Zhi aka Cinnamon

Gui Zhi
桂枝
Cinnamon

640_Cinnamon

Alternate names:                                                                              
Pharmaceutical: Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae
Botanical: Cinnamomum Cassia
Japanese: keishi
Korean: kyeji
Common:  cinnamon twig

The practice of Traditional Chinese medicine incorporates the use of many herbs and plants.  Gui Zhi, also known as cinnamon, is used frequently in Chinese herbal medicine. It is pungent and sweet in flavor and warm in nature.   It may be used for some types of cold or flu, arthritis, and digestive issues.  Also, it is often used for menstrual irregularities and cramps, water retention and poor circulation.  Read more in an article from Acupuncture Today.

Cinnamon is one of the world’s most popular spices. It is also one of the oldest herbal medicines: some Chinese texts have mentioned its use in herbal remedies more than 4,000 years ago.

Cinnamon comes from the cinnamon tree, which grows in tropical areas, including parties of India, China, Madagascar, Brazil and the Caribbean. The tree’s inner bark and essential oil are used to make herbal products. Pieces of the bark may be sold individually, or the bark may be crushed and sold in a powdered form.

The medicinal effects of cinnamon are attributed to terpenoids, substances found in the tree’s essential oil. Small studies conducted on AIDS patients have found that cinnamon oil as a potent anti-fungal, helping rid the body of oral candida infections. Cinnamon has also been shown to fight the bacteria that causes most ulcers. Test-tube studies have found that other substances in the essential oil, diterpenes, may help reduce allergies.

References

  • Akira T, Tanaka S, Tabata M. Pharmacological studies on the antiulcerogenic activity of Chinese cinnamon. Planta Med 1986;(6):440.
  • Azumi S, Tanimura A, Tanamoto K. A novel inhibitor of bacterial endotoxin derived from cinnamon bark. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1997;234:506—10.
  • Blumenthal M, Busse WR, Goldberg A, et al. (eds) The Complete Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. Boston, MA: Integrative Medicine Communications, 1998, pp. 110—1.
  • Leung AY, Foster S. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics, 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996, pp. 168—70.
  • Quale JM, Landman D, Zaman MM, et al. In vitro activity of cinnamomum zeylanicum against azole resistant and sensitive candida species and a pilot study of cinnamon for oral candidiasis. Am J Chin Med 1996;24:103—9.

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