Active cinnamon compounds and their influence on health

Cimet se već stoljećima upotrebljava kao začin i ljekovita biljka. Rezultati dobiveni istraživanjima in vitro i in vivo ukazuju da cimet ima antimikrobna, antitumorna, antioksidativna, imunomodulatorna i kardiovaskularna svojstva i da utječe na snižavanje kolesterola. Osim toga, in vitro istraživanja pokazala su da cimet može povećati inzulinsku aktivnost, te stimulirati metabolizam glukoze. Nadalje, ispitivanja provedena na životinjama ukazala su na jako hipoglikemijsko svojstvo cimeta. Ipak, postoji tek nekoliko dobro kontroliranih kliničkih ispitivanja. Iako se upotreba cimeta kao dodatka u liječenju dijabetesa tipa II smatra najviše obećavajućom, potrebna su dodatna istraživanja prije davanja konačne preporuke.Cinnamon has been used as a spice and as a traditional herbal medicine for many centuries. The available in vitro and animal in vivo evidence suggests that cinnamon has antimicrobial, antitumor, antioxidant, cardiovascular, immunomodulatory and cholesterol-lowering effects. In vitro studies demonstrated that cinnamon can potentiate insulin activity or to stimulate cellular glucose metabolism. Furthermore, animal studies have demonstrated strong hypoglycemic properties. However, there are only few well-controlled clinical studies. The use of cinnamon as an adjunct to the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus is the most promising area, but further research is needed before definitive recommendations can be made