True Cinnamon vs Cassia
Large doses of cinnamon could be bad for your health: the warning is not just for teens choking on spoonfuls of the powder on the Cinnamon Challenge.
A study published by scientists at the University of Mississippi warns of alarming levels of coumarin in cinnamon supplements and in a variety of cinnamon flavored foods. Coumarin, banned as a food additive in the US, is a natural compound present in several plants and spices but in large doses it can be toxic. Linked to liver and kidney damage, coumarin is also known to be cancer causing in rodents.
The problem lies not in cinnamon or True Cinnamon, of which there’s only one species and which since ancient times has been safely used for culinary and medicinal purposes, but in cheaper substitutes that are passed off as cinnamon.
The UM researchers analyzed levels of coumarin in True Cinnamon (AKA Ceylon Cinnamon, grown in Sri Lanka) versus cassia, a cinnamon substitute imported from Indonesia (C. burmannii) and Vietnam (C. loureirii ) that accounts for most of the cinnamon used in the US. While finding cassia to contain higher levels of coumarin than True Cinnamon, they also found levels of the toxic substance in cinnamon supplements and foods such as oatmeal to be much higher than the tolerable daily intake (TDI) levels set in some European countries where the substance is regulated.
The study, the first of its kind in the US, was funded in part by the Food and Drug Administration and completed by scientists Dhammika Nanayakkara, Research Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Mississippi, Yan-Hong Wang (University of Mississippi), Bharathi Avula (University of Mississippi), Jianping Zhao, and Ikhlas A Khan.
Their findings, published in the April issue of the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (JAFC), point to high coumarin levels in everyday foods and OTC supplements: 2.4 mgs in instant oatmeal, 2.1 mgs in cinnamon rolls, and 3.9 mgs per serving in cinnamon supplements.
A study published by scientists at the University of Mississippi warns of alarming levels of coumarin in cinnamon supplements and in a variety of cinnamon flavored foods. Coumarin, banned as a food additive in the US, is a natural compound present in several plants and spices but in large doses it can be toxic. Linked to liver and kidney damage, coumarin is also known to be cancer causing in rodents.
The problem lies not in cinnamon or True Cinnamon, of which there’s only one species and which since ancient times has been safely used for culinary and medicinal purposes, but in cheaper substitutes that are passed off as cinnamon.
The UM researchers analyzed levels of coumarin in True Cinnamon (AKA Ceylon Cinnamon, grown in Sri Lanka) versus cassia, a cinnamon substitute imported from Indonesia (C. burmannii) and Vietnam (C. loureirii ) that accounts for most of the cinnamon used in the US. While finding cassia to contain higher levels of coumarin than True Cinnamon, they also found levels of the toxic substance in cinnamon supplements and foods such as oatmeal to be much higher than the tolerable daily intake (TDI) levels set in some European countries where the substance is regulated.
The study, the first of its kind in the US, was funded in part by the Food and Drug Administration and completed by scientists Dhammika Nanayakkara, Research Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Mississippi, Yan-Hong Wang (University of Mississippi), Bharathi Avula (University of Mississippi), Jianping Zhao, and Ikhlas A Khan.
Their findings, published in the April issue of the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (JAFC), point to high coumarin levels in everyday foods and OTC supplements: 2.4 mgs in instant oatmeal, 2.1 mgs in cinnamon rolls, and 3.9 mgs per serving in cinnamon supplements.
Europe has established Tolerable Daily Intake levels
In addition to two cinnamon-based supplements, researchers analyzed 21 cinnamon-flavored foods such as cereals, snacks, bread, rolls, buns, swirl, bars and pastries, all purchased from local stores. Except for cinnamaldehyde that is essential for cinnamon flavor, coumarin was detected in all cinnamon-flavored food products, varying in content from 0.05 to 2.4 mg per serving.
The researchers are calling for the establishment of a daily intake and maximum limits for coumarin levels in foods and supplements marketed in the US.
Such benchmark doses have already been laid down in several European countries resulting from studies that established high coumarin levels in foods and supplements that used cassia in place of true cinnamon.
In 2008, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment established a TDI of 0.1 mg coumarin per kg body weight, while maintaining that short term excesses (2-3 weeks) poses no health hazards.
However, in a 2012 study, Norwegian researchers who re-assessed coumarin toxicity in the general population, scaled down the TDI to 0.07 mg/kg after determining that in children eating oatmeal porridge with cinnamon and adults drinking cinnamon tea or taking cinnamon supplements the TDI may be exceeded several folds.
In the Czech Republic, authorities monitor coumarin levels in cinnamon and in cinnamon-based foods closely and publicize the results annually. Here too analyses of bakery products and breakfast cereals established high coumarin levels, all of it resulting from cassia derived flavoring and not from True Cinnamon. A 2012 study by Czech scientists echoed concerns raised in Norway – that children could easily exceed tolerable daily intake by consuming as few as 3 to 4 cinnamon-spiced cookies.
The researchers are calling for the establishment of a daily intake and maximum limits for coumarin levels in foods and supplements marketed in the US.
Such benchmark doses have already been laid down in several European countries resulting from studies that established high coumarin levels in foods and supplements that used cassia in place of true cinnamon.
In 2008, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment established a TDI of 0.1 mg coumarin per kg body weight, while maintaining that short term excesses (2-3 weeks) poses no health hazards.
However, in a 2012 study, Norwegian researchers who re-assessed coumarin toxicity in the general population, scaled down the TDI to 0.07 mg/kg after determining that in children eating oatmeal porridge with cinnamon and adults drinking cinnamon tea or taking cinnamon supplements the TDI may be exceeded several folds.
In the Czech Republic, authorities monitor coumarin levels in cinnamon and in cinnamon-based foods closely and publicize the results annually. Here too analyses of bakery products and breakfast cereals established high coumarin levels, all of it resulting from cassia derived flavoring and not from True Cinnamon. A 2012 study by Czech scientists echoed concerns raised in Norway – that children could easily exceed tolerable daily intake by consuming as few as 3 to 4 cinnamon-spiced cookies.
FDA's list of banned food additives
Coumarin has inexplicably escaped such monitoring in the US, despite being on the FDA’s list of banned food additives since 1954. The only scrutiny since then was a 2008 alert issued against artificial Mexican vanilla made with coumarin-containing tonka beans. The FDA warned of increased bleeding risk for patients taking the prescription drug warfarin and advised consumers not to purchase this product.
In recent years, coumarin levels have also been established in some herbs and spices but while listing the compound among "Substances Generally Prohibited From Direct Addition or Use as Human Food," the US has not expanded its watch list nor followed the European lead in educating the public about the presence of the banned substance in a growing range of popular breakfast staples and beverages. Cinnamon supplements are touted as a miracle cure for a range of health issues including arthritis and heart disease and marketed with no warning on coumarin levels. With cassia, as differentiated from True Cinnamon, accounting for 90% of US imports of cinnamon, high coumarin levels are to be expected in virtually any product that claims to be cinnamon-based.
In recent years, coumarin levels have also been established in some herbs and spices but while listing the compound among "Substances Generally Prohibited From Direct Addition or Use as Human Food," the US has not expanded its watch list nor followed the European lead in educating the public about the presence of the banned substance in a growing range of popular breakfast staples and beverages. Cinnamon supplements are touted as a miracle cure for a range of health issues including arthritis and heart disease and marketed with no warning on coumarin levels. With cassia, as differentiated from True Cinnamon, accounting for 90% of US imports of cinnamon, high coumarin levels are to be expected in virtually any product that claims to be cinnamon-based.
Health risks call for setting intake levels
While high doses of coumarin were found to be cancer-causing in some rodents, the substance is believed to be less toxic in humans because of varying metabolism rates. However, the current US study cautions that the intake of high doses of coumarin on a daily basis could pose health risks to people sensitive to the compound. It mentions that while coumarin has been used in several countries for the treatment of edemas, renal cell carcinoma and other tumors, the registration of the drug was canceled in Australia & France following clinical trials in which patients developed signs of hepatotoxicity (chemical driven liver damage). In other clinical trials in the US and Ireland, hepatotoxicity was reported in some patients even at lower doses, the study says.
Because of coumarin’s anticoagulant properties, health experts warn against its use by patients already on blood thinners such as warfarin (Brand name - Coumadin) and Plavix (generic - clopidogrel bisulfate) as it might increase the risk of bleeding. Several anecdotal reports of side effects such as chest pains and diarrhoea may also be found on the internet.
Setting daily intake limits and requiring package labeling to indicate if the flavorant is from real cinnamon or cassia will undoubtedly help consumers make better choices and avoid panicked visits to the ER. But such changes are bound to meet with resistance in an industry that has so far escaped regulatory radar and can only happen if consumers stop settling for the lowly cousins of cinnamon, a spice so princely that in Roman times it fetched 15 times the value of silver!
Because of coumarin’s anticoagulant properties, health experts warn against its use by patients already on blood thinners such as warfarin (Brand name - Coumadin) and Plavix (generic - clopidogrel bisulfate) as it might increase the risk of bleeding. Several anecdotal reports of side effects such as chest pains and diarrhoea may also be found on the internet.
Setting daily intake limits and requiring package labeling to indicate if the flavorant is from real cinnamon or cassia will undoubtedly help consumers make better choices and avoid panicked visits to the ER. But such changes are bound to meet with resistance in an industry that has so far escaped regulatory radar and can only happen if consumers stop settling for the lowly cousins of cinnamon, a spice so princely that in Roman times it fetched 15 times the value of silver!
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