Some Forms of Cinnamon Linked to Liver Damage

Researchers at the American Chemical Society have issued a safety warning concerning many kinds of cinnamon, cinnamon-flavored foods and beverages, and food supplements. Ikhlas Khan and colleagues found that many cinnamon-containing foods, beverages and supplements do not contain “true” Ceylon cinnamon, which is derived from the dried inner bark of Cinnamomum verum. Analysis revealed that most contained a much cheaper type of cinnamon called cassia cinnamon, which can contain high levels of coumarin, a substance that has been linked to liver damage.  The authors concluded: “As found in this study, coumarin was present, sometimes in substantial amounts, in cinnamon-based food supplements and cinnamon-flavored foods.”