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Cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.) may help lower blood glucose levels of patients with diabetes mellitus type-2 (aka non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, NIDDM), according to a study recently published in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation.1 In a randomized, double-blind trial 65 diabetes patients were given either a cinnamon capsule containing 112 mg of the aqueous cinnamon extract TC112 (prepared by Finzelberg, Andernach, Germany and marketed as Diabetruw®, Truw Arzneimittel Vertriebs GmbH, Gutersloh, Germany) or a placebo capsule 3 times daily for 4 months. The amount of cinnamon extract administered equaled 3 grams of cinnamon powder per day. All trial participants were not taking insulin but had been treated with oral antidiabetics or dietary modifications.
Results of the trial demonstrated that the cinnamon extract was significantly more effective at lowering blood glucose levels (10.3%) than placebo (3.4%). There also appeared to be a correlation between patients’ baseline concentrations of blood glucose and the glucose-lowering effects of cinnamon. The study and the abstract state: “The decrease in plasma glucose correlated significantly with the baseline concentrations, indicating that subjects with a higher initial plasma glucose level may benefit more from cinnamon intake.” Cinnamon did not appear to have an effect on glycated hemoglobin levels or lipid profiles (e.g., LDL cholesterol, triglycerides) in this study.
This study reinforces the results of a previous clinical trial that tested cinnamon for diabetes. A study performed in 2003 (reviewed in HerbalGram 64) also indicated that cinnamon extract lowers blood glucose levels in patients with type-2 diabetes, and that cinnamon may also decrease lipid levels.2
-Courtney Cavaliere
References
1. Mang B, Wolters M, Schmitt B, Kelb K, Lichtinghagen R, Stichtenoth DO, Hahn A. Effects of a cinnamon extract on plasma glucose, HbA1c, and serum lipids in diabetes mellitus type 2. European Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2006;36:340-344.
2. Khan A, Safdar M, Khan MMA, Khattak KN, Anderson RA. Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2003;26:3215-3218.
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