Aldehyde, which gives cinnamon its distinctive smell, helps mouse cells defend themselves against colon cancer, researchers at the University of Arizona said. Their conclusions are published by the EurekAlert website.
In mice modeling the development of colorectal cancer, scientists observed that cinnamic aldehyde added to the food of rodents helped their cells get rid of toxins, increased their regenerative potential and protected them against carcinogens.
These results are important. Colorectal cancer is an aggressive cancer and does not have a good prognosis, so there is an urgent need to develop more effective methods of preventing and treating the disease, says study co-author Dr. Donna Zhang.
The researchers’ next step will be to find out if just consuming cinnamon (as opposed to isolated aldehyde) prevents cancer in a similar way.
Cinnamon is the third most consumed spice in the world, and its use is safe, so researchers hope that similar studies will soon be conducted among people.