Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum): Traditional Uses & Safety

At a glance

Botanical name: Cinnamomum verum
Family: Lauraceae
Part used: Bark
Taste: Sweet, Pungent
Temperature: Warm
Moisture: Dry

Taught in Eden's Table

Sprouts (grades K-2), Week 20

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Safety at a glance

In pregnancy

Culinary safe; avoid large doses

While breastfeeding

Small culinary amounts safe; avoid high medicinal doses (esp. cassia) during lactation due to coumarin transfer.

For children

Culinary safe; avoid therapeutic doses under 6

Cautions

Avoid high doses with bleeding disorders; use Ceylon not Cassia long-term (coumarin)

General contraindications

Culinary safe; avoid large doses

Stewardship

True cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum / Ceylon) is preferred for medicinal use over cassia (C. cassia) due to lower coumarin content. Source from Sri Lanka fair-trade. Stewardship: the distinction between verum and cassia is a stewardship issue of truthful labeling.

In the traditional record

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum) — referenced in Exodus 30:23 as a sacred anointing spice; Proverbs 7:17; Song of Solomon 4:14

Related reading: Herbs in the Bible for Healing

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Educational use

The Apothecary is educational and does not constitute medical advice. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a diagnosed condition.

On our sources

These entries draw on public-domain materia medica, most of it published before 1900, alongside a smaller number of modern reference works. Energetic qualities such as warming, cooling, drying and moistening are a traditional framework for describing how a plant behaves in the body, not a laboratory measurement. Where a period source states one, we cite it. Where none does, and for many North American herbs none exists, the value reflects modern herbal consensus rather than a historical text. When we cannot support a caution with real evidence, we say nothing rather than guess.