Cinnamon, (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), also called Ceylon cinnamon, bushy evergreen tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae) and the spice derived from its bark. Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), the neighbouring Malabar Coast of India, and Myanmar (Burma) and is also cultivated in South America and the West Indies. The spice, consisting of the dried inner bark, is brown in colour and has a delicately fragrant aroma and a warm sweet flavour. Cinnamon is used to flavour a variety of foods, from confections to curries to beverages, and is popular in bakery goods in many places. Essential oil is distilled from the bark fragments for use in food, liqueur, perfume, and drugs.

Cinnamon was once more valuable than gold. In Egypt it was sought for embalming and religious practices. In medieval Europe it was used for religious rites and as a flavouring. Later it was the most profitable spice in the Dutch East India Company trade.

Ceylon cinnamon is the powdered bark from a tropical evergreen tree. People use the bark to make medicine.

Ceylon cinnamon is used for indigestion (dyspepsia), diarrhea, diabetes, obesity, and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.
In foods, cinnamon is used as a spice and flavoring agent.
In manufacturing, cinnamon oil is used in small amounts in toothpaste, mouthwashes, gargles, lotions, liniments, soaps, detergents, pharmaceutical products, and cosmetics.


 How does it work ?
The oils found in Ceylon cinnamon are thought to reduce spasms, reduce gas (flatulence), and fight bacteria and fungi. Chemicals in Ceylon cinnamon might work like insulin to lower blood sugar. However, these effects are thought to be fairly weak.