Commercially prepared capsules. 400 to 1,600 mg taken by mouth daily in divided doses is a typical dose.334 Products that are standardized are typically standardized to 1% apigenin.335
Bath. No more than 50 g per one quart of water.336
What should you be aware of before using it?
Chamomile is safe for long-term use if you use it at recommended doses. At large doses it can cause vomiting.337
Don’t take it if you are taking warfarin or other anti-coagulants.338 If you plan to have surgery, tell your surgeon you have been taking chamomile and discontinue use. Be cautious when using it in conjunction with other herbs known or suspected of increasing the risk of bleeding. (See Chapter 5 for a list.)
Don’t use the essential oil if you are pregnant as it is a uterine stimulant.
Allergic reactions are not unheard of. At least one case of anaphylactic shock has been reported.339 If you are allergic to members of the Compositae family (ragweed, daisies, aster, etc.) you have a greater chance of being allergic to chamomile. Some people are sensitive to topical chamomile. If you’re prone to dermatitis, try a little before using chamomile more extensively. Some people will get headaches from drinking the tea.
Avoid skin contact with the undiluted essential oil. Be careful not to get it into your nose or eyes. It is very strong.
Chamomile is supposed to make you drowsy. Don’t use it if you plan to drink alcohol—alcohol compounds its effects—or if you need to be alert. It may compound the effect of other sedative herbs. (See Chapter 5 for a list.)
Impurities (adulterants) in chamomile products are common. Get your chamomile from a reputable source.340
Though other members of the chamomile genus are thought to have medicinal properties, we don’t know much about them, their benefits, or their dangers. Traditional herbalists believe that some are damaging to the lining of the stomach and intestine.341 It is safest when using chamomile to stick with Chamaemelum nobile (Anthemis nobilis) and Matricaria recutita, because they have a known track record.
Note that wild chamomile, sometimes called dog chamomile or cotula, is a completely different plant with completely different properties.
Chilis
(See Capsicum)
Cinnamon Bark
Scientific name: Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinnamomum verum
Also known as true cinnamon, cinnamon
True Cinnamon, Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Left) and Cassia Cinnamon, C. aromaticum
Native to Sri Lanka and Southern India, the cinnamon tree grows from twenty to thirty feet tall. To process it, the thin, inner bark is stripped from the tree. This bark curls as it dries into “cinnamon sticks” or quills. Cinnamon is sold in quills or is ground for use as a spice or medicine. The medicinal properties of cinnamon come from the essential oil. This oil is prepared by crushing the bark, macerating it in sea-water, and then distilling out the oil. The essential oil of cinnamon bark is about 90% cinnamaldehyde, a yellow, oily liquid. Cinnamaldehyde, which has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, also contains a very concentrated smell and flavor of cinnamon.
The name cinnamon means “sweet wood.” This sweet wood has been a highly prized spice for millennia. Records of it date back to 2800 B.C.E. in China. Before modern refrigeration it was used to preserve meat. As a potent antimicrobial, it helped retard spoilage, and the distinctive taste helped mask the taste of meat that had started to turn.
Two common species of cinnamon are sold in grocery stores in the United States: Cinnamomum aromaticum and Cinnamomum zeylanicum. C. aromaticum, sometimes called cassia cinnamon or just cassia, is a different species from the same genus as true cinnamon. The two have somewhat different but overlapping medicinal properties. Cassia cinnamon, called ròu gùi in Chinese, is one of the fifty fundamental herbs of traditional Chinese medicine. In a typical grocery store, they will both be sold as simply “cinnamon,” but you can tell the difference by looking at the quills. True cinnamon sticks (C. zeylanicum) curl into a tube, while cassia sticks curl inward from both sides, like a scroll. In some studies, little or no difference was found between the effects of cassia and true cinnamon.342 In others, slight differences were found.343 Here we look at the medicinal effects of the Cinnamomum genus in general.
What is it good for?
One of the traditional uses for cinnamon is as a treatment for infection, particularly for fungal infections such as athlete’s foot. Honey and cinnamon together are a traditional remedy for fungal infections. The 1918 U.S. Dispensatory, for example, notes the powerful germicidal effects of cinnamon oil. Since 1918, laboratory research has amassed considerable evidence of these antimicrobial properties. One in vitro experiment demonstrated that the essential oil kills the fungi most likely to infect the respiratory tract of people.344 The essential oil also inhibits candida.345 Cinnamon has an antimicrobial effect, killing E. coli, when added as a preservative to food.346 It inhibits the growth of listeria.347 It has a broad antibacterial effect.348 It is also an antioxidant.349 The implications of these properties for healing infection, however, have not been tested.
Blood sugar control. Researchers are beginning to study the effects of cinnamon on blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. In test-tube studies, one of cinnamon’s most active compounds, methylhydroxy chalcone polymer (MHCP) increases glucose metabolism twenty-fold.350 Similarly, in a study of rats given Cinnamomum bark or extracts, a decrease in blood glucose levels was observed in a glucose tolerance test. Similar effects have been observed in human studies though results in people are mixed. A small study of sixty patients with type 2 diabetes in Pakistan found that one gram of cinnamon per day (split between two doses) lowered fasting glucose by 18–29%.351 Another study, however, found that fasting blood sugar levels did not change for postmenopausal diabetic women who took 1.5 g of cinnamon per day for six weeks.352 In the studies that found some effect, cassia cinnamon seemed to work a bit better than true cinnamon.353
Lowers blood pressure. This effect is seen in rat studies. Supplementing the diet with cinnamon lowered the systolic blood pressure both in spontaneously hypertensive rats and in rats whose blood pressure had been artificially elevated by feeding them sugar.354 The study was limited to lab animals and hasn’t been repeated, but the results are consistent with the fact that cinnamon contains oligomeric proanthocyanidin, which helps improve circulation.355
Cholesterol. The same Pakistani study that looked at blood sugar also found that as little as one gram per day of cinnamon lowered triglycerides by 23 to 30%, LDL cholesterol by 7 to 27%, and total cholesterol by 12 to 26% in people with type 2 diabetes.356
Alertness. A study conducted by a team at Wheeling Jesuit University found that the smell of cinnamon increased alertness and decreased frustration in drivers.357
How do you use it?
Decoction. A strong decoction brings out the best in cinnamon bark. Combine the herb with water at a 1:32 ratio. Bring the mixture to a boil slowly,