Is cinnamon intake beneficial for type 2 diabetes patients? Study sheds light

Written By : Medha Baranwal |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-04-27T10:00:47+05:30 | Updated On 27 April 2022 10:33 AM IST

Portugal: In type 2 diabetes patients, the ingestion of aqueous cinnamon extract (6 g/100 mL) does not significantly influence postprandial glucose response during an OGTT, a recent study has stated. However, cinnamon extract possesses a considerable antioxidant activity and inhibition capacity of reactive oxygen species.

Based on the above, the researchers in their study, published in the journal Nutrients, encourage the intake of aqueous cinnamon extract as a source of natural antioxidants owing to its high content in these compounds and respective antioxidant activity.

Cinnamon is an Indian spice that is used in traditional cuisine and has been investigated owing to its hypoglycemic properties. In the study, Ana Paula Rachid, Campus Universitário, Monte de Caparica, Portugal, and colleagues aimed to investigate (1) the effect of aqueous cinnamon extract (6 g cinnamon burmannii/100 mL) on postprandial glycemia levels in type 2 diabetic adults and (2) the total phenols content and antioxidant evaluation.

The clinical trial enrolled 36 adults with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. They were randomly allocated into two groups: the control group (n = 18) took only an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and the intervention group (n = 18) took OGTT immediately followed by aqueous cinnamon extract (6 g/100 mL) ingestion. In both, groups, blood glucose levels were measured on fasting and after 30, 60, 90, and 120 min.

FRAP and DPPH methods were used for the chemical analysis of the aqueous cinnamon extract included total phenols content determination and antioxidant activity assessment.

Following were the salient findings of the study:

Aqueous cinnamon extract ingestion did not show a significant difference in the incremental area under the curve, maximum glucose concentration and glucose concentration variation compared with the control group.
Cinnamon extract possess a total phenol content of 1554.9 mg/L gallic acid equivalent and a strong antioxidant capacity, revealed by the DPPH (5125.0 µmol Trolox/L) and FRAP (3658.8 µmol Trolox/L) tests.

To conclude, "aqueous cinnamon extract did not significantly influence postprandial glucose response in diabetic patients during an OGTT."

Nutrients journalcinnamontype 2 diabetesblood sugar

Source : Nutrients

Medha Baranwal

MSc. Biotechnology

Medha Baranwal joined Medical Dialogues as an Editor in 2018 for Speciality Medical Dialogues. She covers several medical specialties including Cardiac Sciences, Dentistry, Diabetes and Endo, Diagnostics, ENT, Gastroenterology, Neurosciences, and Radiology. She has completed her Bachelors in Biomedical Sciences from DU and then pursued Masters in Biotechnology from Amity University. She has a working experience of 5 years in the field of medical research writing, scientific writing, content writing, and content management. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751