Research
Research and Professional Briefs
Effect of Ground Cinnamon on Postprandial Blood Glucose Concentration in Normal-Weight and Obese Adults

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2012.07.037Get rights and content

Abstract

In healthy normal-weight adults, cinnamon reduces blood glucose concentration and enhances insulin sensitivity. Insulin resistance, resulting in increased fasting and postprandial blood glucose and insulin levels, is commonly observed in obese individuals. The objective of the study was to compare declines in postprandial glycemic response in normal-weight and obese subjects with ingestion of 6 g ground cinnamon. In a crossover study, subjects consumed 50 g available carbohydrate in instant farina cereal, served plain or with 6 g ground cinnamon. Blood glucose concentration, the main outcome measure, was assessed at minutes 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120. Repeated-measures analysis of variance evaluated the effects of body mass index (BMI) group, dietary condition, and time on blood glucose. Paired t-test assessed blood glucose at individual time points and glucose area under the curve (AUC) between dietary conditions. Thirty subjects between the ages of 18 and 30 years, 15 with BMIs between 18.5 and 24.9 and 15 with BMIs of 30.0 or more, completed the study. There was no significant difference in blood glucose between the two BMI groups at any time point. However, in a combined analysis of all subjects, the addition of cinnamon to the cereal significantly reduced 120-minute glucose AUC (P=0.008) and blood glucose at 15 (P=0.001), 30 (P<0.001), 45 (P<0.001), and 60 (P=0.001) minutes. At 120 minutes, blood glucose was significantly higher with cinnamon consumption (P<0.001). These results suggest cinnamon may be effective in moderating postprandial glucose response in normal weight and obese adults.

Section snippets

Methods

The protocol was reviewed and approved by Ball State University's Institutional Review Board, and all subjects provided written informed consent prior to study participation. Subjects were recruited at Ball State University from February through April 2010. Normal-weight (body mass index [BMI]=18.5 to 24.9) and obese (BMI ≥30.0) individuals age 18 to 30 years were eligible for the study. Exclusion criteria included a known allergy to wheat, cinnamon, and/or sucralose; pregnancy; and medical

Subjects

Thirty-seven men and women, age 18 to 30 years, were recruited for the study. A total of seven individuals (five normal-weight and two obese) did not complete the study; one did not report for testing, one left the study for personal reasons, and five did not finish the cereal in the allotted time (three served plain cereal and two served cereal with cinnamon). Subject characteristics are summarized in Table 1. Of the 30 subjects (24 female and 5 male) who completed the study, 28 were white

Conclusions

Findings from the current study provide support for the hypoglycemic effect of cinnamon in healthy individuals during the postprandial period. Critical questions for future research are (a) whether the reduction of blood glucose is maintained with long-term cinnamon supplementation and (b), if so, whether the reduction can delay or prevent the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and related disease states. As health care in the United States continues to shift from an illness model toward

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the following individuals for their service as research assistants: L. Bollinger, C. Peaks, S. Faith, S. Line, L. Smith, H. Quade, A. Siela, N. Kremer, M. Deroo, and T. Bianski.

A. Magistrelli is a graduate student, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.

References (24)

  • R. Akilen et al.

    Glycated haemoglobin and blood pressure-lowering effect of cinnamon in multi-ethnic Type 2 diabetic patients in the UK: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial

    Diabet Med

    (Oct 2010)
  • A. Khan et al.

    Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes

    Diabetes Care

    (Dec 2003)
  • Cited by (37)

    • Phytochemical and pharmacological review of Cinnamomum verum J. Presl-a versatile spice used in food and nutrition

      2021, Food Chemistry
      Citation Excerpt :

      Dugoua et al. (2012) examined the antidiabetic role of C. verum in combination with C. aromaticum on fifty patients of T2D and found no significant improvement in patients. Magistrelli and Chezem (2012) examined the cinnamon effect in thirty adults of normal weight and obesity. They observed that cinnamon has decreased blood sugar concentration and induced more insulin sensitivity during the postprandial period.

    • Beneficial effects of cinnamon on cardiovascular risk factors and type 2 diabetes

      2021, Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals in Metabolic and Non-communicable Diseases
    • A tale of two cinnamons: A comparative review of the clinical evidence of Cinnamomum verum and C. cassia as diabetes interventions

      2020, Journal of Herbal Medicine
      Citation Excerpt :

      Among these studies, three trials used C. cassia (Gutierrez et al., 2016; Magistrelli and Chezem, 2012; Wickenberg et al., 2014) (n = 72) and one trial used C. verum (Wickenberg et al., 2012) (n = 10). Three trials were conducted on postprandial glucose levels using an oral glucose tolerance test with cinnamon intake at the test (Gutierrez et al., 2016; Wickenberg et al., 2012; Magistrelli and Chezem, 2012). Intake of C. cassia 5−6 g reduced postprandial glucose levels in obese individuals (Gutierrez et al., 2016; Magistrelli and Chezem, 2012), while C. verum 6 g had no effect in IGT patients (Wickenberg et al., 2012).

    • Polyphenol-rich spice-based beverages modulated postprandial early glycaemia, appetite and PYY after breakfast challenge in healthy subjects: A randomized, single blind, crossover study

      2017, Journal of Functional Foods
      Citation Excerpt :

      In comparison to control, the current study showed that the cinnamon beverage reduced early phase blood glucose by −39% while no changes were observed for either insulin secretion or sensitivity. Our results on glucose lowering effects of cinnamon are in agreement with previous acute studies incorporating different amounts of cinnamon (6 g; 6 g, 5 g; 6 g; respectively) into different type of challenge meals (rice pudding (16 g CHO); 75 g bolus of dextrose; 75 g bolus of dextrose and cereal (50 g CHO) challenge, respectively) (Bernardo et al., 2015; Hlebowicz et al., 2007; Magistrelli & Chezem, 2012; Solomon & Blannin, 2007). Previous study showed that acute cinnamon intake with rice pudding reduced early blood glucose (iAUC 0–45 min) by −55% (Hlebowicz et al., 2007) compared with rice pudding alone.

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    A. Magistrelli is a graduate student, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.

    J. C. Chezem is an associate professor of nutrition, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.

    FUNDING/SUPPORT This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

    View full text