When out for a shopping trip, it can be difficult to resist the delicious odour of Cinnabon in the mall that seems to follow wherever you go. But have you ever considered the molecule that gives cinnamon buns their amazing taste and smell? Meet cinnamaldehyde (see Figure 1), a yellow oil produced naturally in the bark of Cinnamomum camphor and Cinnamomum cassia (Cinnamaldehyde | C9H8O, 2017). Most people are familiar with the use of cinnamaldehyde in food such as cinnamon buns, but cinnamaldehyde actually has so much potential to do more in our world than be used in tasty treats.
One of cinnamaldehyde’s most intriguing properties is its antifungal capabilities. Biodegradation of wood by fungi is a serious issue for wooden structures and forest management. Preservatives such as pentachlorophenol and inorganic arsenicals allow these structures to survive longer (Cheng, Liu, Chang and Chang, 2008). However, these agents may have adverse impacts on the environment, and finding safer chemicals with
lower environmental impact and mammalian toxicity is becoming more urgent (Cheng, Liu, Chang and Chang, 2008). A study by Wang, Chen and Chang (2005) analyzed components of essential oils from cinnamon trees and found that these oils possessed strong antifungal properties. Amongst the components of these oils, they found that cinnamaldehyde possessed the strongest antifungal properties. This is proposed to be a result of the aldehyde group and conjugated double bond with a CH chain outside of its ring, as seen in Figure 1 (Cheng, Liu, Chang and Chang, 2008). Further studies have demonstrated that the combination of cinnamaldehyde and eugenol, another component of the oil, showed superb antifungal properties due to their ability to alter cell walls and interfere with cell wall synthesis of fungi (Yen and Chang, 2008). Evidently, using cinnamaldehyde with eugenol as a fungicide could allow the use of more environmentally friendly fungicides while preserving wood structures.
Of course, cinnamaldehyde isn’t only an effective fungicide; it also has many uses in medicine. Cinnamaldehyde is an antineoplastic agent, meaning that it acts to prevent, inhibit, or halt the development of a tumour (Cinnamaldehyde | C9H8O, 2017; Yu, Liu, Qi and Zou, 2014). A study by Yu, Liu, Qi, and Zou (2014) examined the potential advantage of using cinnamaldehyde in combination with commonly used chemotherapeutic agents for colorectal carcinoma (CRC) therapy. The study found that cinnamaldehyde is likely to have a synergistic effect on the cytotoxicity of these chemotherapeutic agents in CRC HT-29 and LoVo cells (Yu, Liu, Qi and Zou, 2014). Yu, Liu, Qi, and Zou (2014) also investigated the effect of cinnamaldehyde on chemotherapeutic-associated gene expression, and they found that cinnamaldehyde suppressed many drug-metabolizing genes such as topoisomerase 1 and breast cancer susceptibility gene. These results demonstrate that cinnamaldehyde is a promising candidate for use in combination with 5-fluorouracil or oxiplatin, two common chemotherapeutic agents used in CRC therapy.
Cinnamaldehyde isn’t just a molecule to give flavour and a nice smell to our food; it has so many unexpected applications. In addition to being a fungicide and an antineoplastic agent, cinnamaldehyde is also an insecticide, a corrosion inhibitor for steel, an antimutagenic agent (Cinnamaldehyde | C9H8O, 2017), and may even be a potential antidiabetic agent (Subash Babu, Prabuseenivasan and Ignacimuthu, 2007). Cinnamaldehyde is a true superhero – whenever there is a problem, cinnamaldehyde swoops in to save the day. So the next time you see that delicious cinnamon bun, don’t forget the superpowers of cinnamaldehyde.
References
Advanced Preservations Ltd, 2017. Dry Rot. [image online] Available at: <http://advancedbasements.co.uk/timber-preservation> [Accessed 21 March 2017].
Anon, 2017. Cinnamaldehyde | C9H8O. [online] Pubchem. Available at: <https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/cinnamaldehyde#section=Top> [Accessed 16 Mar. 2017].
Cheng, S., Liu, J., Chang, E. and Chang, S., 2008. Antifungal activity of cinnamaldehyde and eugenol congeners against wood-rot fungi. Bioresource Technology, 99(11), pp.5145-5149.
Subash Babu, P., Prabuseenivasan, S. and Ignacimuthu, S., 2007. Cinnamaldehyde—A potential antidiabetic agent. Phytomedicine, 14(1), pp.15-22.
Wang, S., Chen, P. and Chang, S., 2005. Antifungal activities of essential oils and their constituents from indigenous cinnamon (Cinnamomum osmophloeum) leaves against wood decay fungi. Bioresource Technology, 96(7), pp.813-818.
Yen, T. and Chang, S., 2008. Synergistic effects of cinnamaldehyde in combination with eugenol against wood decay fungi. Bioresource Technology, 99(1), pp.232-236.
Yu, C., Liu, S., Qi, M.H., and Zou, X., 2014. Cinnamaldehyde/chemotherapeutic agents interaction and drug-metabolizing genes in colorectal cancer. Molecular Medicine Reports, 9(2), pp.669-676.
Comments
9 Responses to “Cinnamaldehyde to the Rescue!”
Hi everyone,
Thanks for reading my post! I wrote this while eating a cinnamon bun. I chose this topic due to my love for cinnamon, as well as my interest in the many applications this molecule has in chemistry and biology. Please help me out by leaving some comments for how I can improve my post!
Liz
Hi Liz,
Wow, that was such an interesting blog post! I am personally not a fan of cinnamon (shocking) but I am glad to see that there are many other uses for this chemical. Your writing is effective and clear. Below I have a few comments that may help improve your blog post even further.
1. I would suggest looking into your opening sentence again. Currently it reads “Out for a day of shopping, it can be difficult to resist the delicious odour of Cinnabon that seems to follow wherever you go. ” I would recommend possibly changing this sentence to “When out for a shopping trip it can often be difficult to resist the delicious, everpresent, odour of the nearby Cinnabon. “. This is just a more concise introduction which will allow the post to flow.
2. I would recommend adding a picture (s). Your post is quite interdisciplinary (which is extremely commendable) so in order to convey your message to multiple audiences a diagram of Cinnamaldehyde or LoVo cells may help readers without that knowledge on the subject grasp the topics mentioned.
Overall a very good blog post! I look forward to seeing the final product.
Regards,
Sloane
Hi Sloane,
Thanks for reading my post! I changed the first sentence to adapt part of your suggestion, but I kept the end as I felt it best represented the experience I was trying to depict. I have also added an image of cinnamaldehyde and an image of a wooden structure destroyed due to wood rot caused by fungi. Thank you so much for your suggestions, I hope you gained an appreciation for cinnamon even if you don’t like eating it!
Liz
Hi Liz,
It is very interesting that cinnamon has such a diverse range of chemical properties and uses. A couple things I noticed:
1. In your first paragraph, the last sentence is a little awkward, specifically “…to do so much more in our world than use in tasty treats.” Perhaps consider changing that to “…in our world than be used in tasty treats.”
2. In your second paragraph, you mention “strong inhibitory effects” of cinnamaldehyde, but you don’t mention what it inhibits. If you mean that it inhibits fungi, just calling it antifungal should be enough.
Otherwise I thought your post was well-written and sufficiently thorough.
Happy editing,
Jason
Hi Jason,
Thanks for your comment! I have fixed the wording of the sentence you mentioned in paragraph one, and I removed ‘strong inhibitory effects’ since it was repetitive and unnecessary. Thank you for reading my post and giving some useful suggestions!
Liz
Hi Liz,
Very interesting post! Here are a few comments:
– I really enjoyed your introduction! You did a great job with the imagery, it made me crave Cinnabon! I can definitely relate to this situation.
– In the second paragraph, I suggest addressing the significance of cinnamaldehyde at the beginning. The flow between the first and paragraph is interrupted since it takes a while for you to actually get to cinnamaldehyde. It would be smoother and easier on the reader to fit the beginning of the second paragraph into context.
– In the third paragraph, “A study by Yu, Liu, Qi, and Zou (Liu, 2014)” you can just include the date in the parentheses since you name the people who did the study – this is according to Anglia Ruskin Harvard style.
– In the final paragraph, “Not only is cinnamaldehyde known to be a fungicide and an antineoplastic agent” could be replaced with “In addition to being a fungicide and an antineoplastic agent, cinnamaldehyde is…” since the current wording is a bit awkward.
Overall, very interesting blog post! I learned a lot and had an enjoyable time reading it.
Happy editing!
Noel
Hi Noel,
Thanks for reading! I’m glad you enjoyed my introduction, I was hoping to make it relatable to draw my audience into reading my piece. As you suggested, I have mentioned cinnamaldehyde in the beginning of the second paragraph to maintain the connection to cinnamaldehyde. I have also removed the citation that you mentioned and left the date in parentheses. I also preferred your suggestion for the sentence in the final paragraph, and it sounds much better now. Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate all of your comments!
Liz
Hi Liz! Super interesting blog post! I really liked your opening paragraph and the cinnabon imagery. I never knew that cinnamaldehyde had so many other potential applications outside of the food industry… Here are a few suggestions:
1. I liked your opening sentence, but it kind of implies that there is an odour of Cinnabon when you go on shopping trips in general. Maybe you could mention there being a Cinnabon store in the shopping centre (like walking past the Cinnabon and having the odour following you everywhere after that).
2. It might be a good idea to introduce how cinnamaldehyde is a good fungicide at the beginning of your second paragraph. Currently, it seems like the second paragraph is unrelated until the reader gets to the middle.
3. In the first sentence of your last paragraph, I think you should have a semicolon after “food” instead of a comma.
Other than this, your post was really interesting and well-written. Happy editing!
Audrey
Hi Audrey,
Thank you for reading, I’m glad you got to learn more about cinnamaldehyde’s awesome abilities!
I tried to incorporate your suggestion into the first sentence, but I struggled to find the right words to articulate what you described. I have now mentioned that it is in the mall like you recommended, and I hope it will be descriptive enough to interest my audience. I have also added a sentence about cinnamaldehyde in the beginning of the second paragraph in order to connect it to cinnamaldehyde sooner. I also added the semicolon you suggested in the final paragraph.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and give me some comments to improve! I hope you enjoyed learning more about cinnamaldehyde!
Liz