Safety of Cinnamon: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses and Systematic Reviews of Randomized Clinical Trials

Gu DT, Tung TH, Jiesisibieke ZL, Chien CW, Liu WY · Frontiers in Pharmacology · 2022 January 18

DOI 10.3389/fphar.2021.790901

Objective

To elucidate the safety of cinnamon.

Conclusions

There is evidence to support that the use of cinnamon has no adverse reactions. It can improve the health status of patients as an adjuvant treatment.

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Insights

Cinnamon is a safe therapeutic agent without significant adverse effects based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

The researchers conducted a thorough search of PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, identifying relevant systematic reviews and meta-analyses on human subjects' cinnamon safety. The search consisted of articles up to September 2021, with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines followed for comprehensive reporting and transparency. The reliability of these studies' methodology was determined using methodological quality standards. The review included three meta-analyses and one systematic review, with two of the four classified as moderate quality, and the others as low quality. Generally, the academic studies found no significant harmful effects compared to a placebo, regardless of the dose or length of therapy. The findings suggest that humans well tolerate cinnamon, as no adverse reactions were observed in the study subjects. This evidence confirms the safety of cinnamon consumption, potentially providing health benefits as auxiliary treatment without significant risk of harm.