Source

The best variety of cinnamon is obtained from Ceylon, and is the prepared bark of a tree of the natural order Lauraceae.

It is in the form of long, cylindrical pieces, thin, smooth, and of a yellow-brown color, with a fragrant odor, and a warm, sweetish, aromatic and slightly astringent taste. It contains a volatile oil, a slight amount of tannic acid, an acid peculiar to itself, cinnamic acid, mucilage, lignin, etc.

Medical Properties And Action

Cinnamon is an aromatic stimulant and astringent, being more powerful as a local than as a general stimulant. Its medicinal virtues principally reside in a volatile oil, oleum cinnamomi.

Therapeutic Uses

Cinnamon is chiefly used as an adjunct to other medicines, being seldom prescribed alone, though it is capable of allaying nausea and vomiting, and also relieving flatulence. Combined with chalk and with other astringents, it is well adapted for the treatment of diarrhoea. A strong decoction of cinnamon made by boiling one pound of the Ceylon sticks in a closed vessel for eight hours in three pints of water until the quantity is reduced to one pint, is recommepded by Dr. Carne Ross for the pain of cancer. Dose is one-half pint taken during the 24 hours soon after meals.

Dose

Of cinnamon, gr. x to of the powder; of the tincture, the dose is to

Oil of Cinnamon - Oleum Cinnamomi - is obtained by distillation, and when fresh, is of a light yellow color, which becomes deeper by age, and ultimately red. It has an excessively hot, pungent taste. It is often employed to conceal the taste of other medicines, and is a powerful local stimulant. Large doses of the oil of cinnamon are poisonous, producing an inflamed and corroded condition of the gastric and intestinal mucous membrane.

Dose

Of the oil of cinnamon, gtt. j or gtt. ij, administered in the form of an emulsion.

Oil Of Cassia

The oil of cassia is prepared from the same order of tree Lauraceae. - Laurel, but not from the same tree as the oil of cinnamon, as the cassia is a distinct species from the true cinnamon. Oil of cassia is secured from the bud, bark, stem, and leaves. (See Essential Oils, also Antiseptics in Dental Practice.)

Cinnamon water - Aqua Cinnamomi - (cinnamon, carbonate of magnesia and distilled water), is used as a vehicle for other medicines.

Spirit of cinnamon - Spiritus Cinnamomi - (oil of cinnamon, I part, stronger alcohol 15 parts). Dose, gtt. x to gtt. xx.

Dental Uses

Cinnamon, in the form of powder, is employed as an ingredient of dentifrices, for its stimulant, astringent and aromatic properties. Oil of cinnamon is. also employed as an ingredient of dentifrices, for its stimulant, astringent and aromatic properties, and for the relief of odontalgia. One drop applied to an inflamed dental pulp will afford temporary relief; it is, also used, combined with iodoform, in the treatment of alveolar pyorrhoea. M. Chamberland asserts that no living germ of disease can resist the antiseptic power of essence of cinnamon for more than a few hours. It is said to destroy microbes as effectively, if not as rapidly, as corrosive sublimate.

Dental Formulae

For Alveolar Pyorrhoea.

Dr. A. W. Harian.

Oil of cassia .... Distilled water . . .

Agitate from time to time for a few days at a temperature of 70° F., or upward, and to each ounce of the above add:

Officinal dilute sulphuric acid Mix. Signa. - After injecting peroxide of sodium, inject the above slowly.

For Alveolar Pyorrhaea, Abscess, etc.

Dr. Black's 1. 2. 3. Mixture.

Oil of cinnamon . . .1 part

Carbolic acid (cryst.) 2 parts

Oil of gaultheria . . 3 parts. M.

To Sterilize Softened Dentine over a Nearly Exposed Pulp.

Dr. H. A. Smith.

Oil of cassia .... 2 parts Carbolic acid . . . . 1 part Oil of cloves .... 3 parts. M. Insert permanent filling at once.