US research study shows massive potential for Sri Lankan cinnamon
Hassina Leelarathna
A scientific research study four years in the making and just
released in the US spells a major windfall for Sri Lanka's cinnamon
industry.
Appearing in the April issue of the prestigious Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry (JAFC), published by the American
Chemical Society, the study by researchers at the University of
Mississippi analyzing levels of the banned toxic chemical coumarin in
cinnamon products affirms the superiority of Ceylon Cinnamon, AKA True
Cinnamon, as compared to more widely used cinnamon substitutes.
High levels of coumarin, a chemical that naturally occurs in
cinnamon, is toxic to the liver, acts as an anticoagulant, and is known
to cause cancer in rodents.
According to the researchers, experiments conducted using a variety
of popular cinnamon flavored foods and cinnamon food supplements found
Ceylon Cinnamon to contain insignificant traces of coumarin whereas
barks from cassia, imported from China, Vietnam and Indonesia and sold
as cinnamon in the US, had substantial amounts of the toxic chemical.
"This is a great development that opens up many possibilities for Sri
Lankan cinnamon growers," said Ananda Wickremasinghe (now living in
Canada) who has been patiently awaiting the results ever since he took
the initiative to get the study started in 2009 while serving as Consul
General in Los Angeles. Wickremasinghe, an agricultural graduate who
spent most of his career as an agriculture scientist spotted the
potential for promoting Ceylon Cinnamon in the US after its lower
coumarin content and superiority over substitutes was established by
European as well as Sri Lankan researchers. "Some Sri Lankan exporters
were already aware of Ceylon Cinnamon's lower coumarin levels and
studies have been conducted by the Industrial Technology Institute.
However, to gain acceptance in the US, an independent study by American
researchers was needed."
He presented the proposal to Dr. Dhammika Nanayakkara, Research
Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Mississippi,
one of the nation's top pharmaceutical research colleges. Dr.
Nanayakkara eventually co-authored the study with research scientists
Dr. Yan Hong Wang (University of Mississippi), Bharathi Avula
(University of Mississippi), Jianping Zhao, and Ikhlas A Khan.
The research was supported in part by "Science Based Authentication
of Dietary Supplements" funded by the Food and Drug Administration, the
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
and the Global Research Network for Medicinal Plants (GRNMP), King Saud
University.
The researchers analyzed coumarin and other compounds in
authenticated cinnamon bark samples as well as locally bought cinnamon
samples, cinnamon-flavoured foods and cinnamon-based food. "The
experimental results indicated that C. Verum bark (Ceylon Cinnamon)
contained only traces of coumarin, whereas barks from all three cassia
species, especially C. loureirai (Vietnam Cinnamon) and C. burmannii
(Indonesian Cinnamon), contained substantial amounts of coumarin," the
study said.
Researchers then analyzed of 21 cinnamon-flavoured foods such as
cereals, snacks, bread, rolls, bun, swirl, bar and pastries, all
purchased from local stores. Except for cinnamaldehyde that is essential
for cinnamon flavour, coumarin was detected in all cinnamon-flavoured
food products, varying in content from 0.05 to 2.4 mg per serving. Two
cinnamon dietary supplements that contained powders of cinnamon bark
were also analyzed and found to contain high coumarin levels - 2.5 and
3.9 mg per serving.
The identity of the cinnamon used in the samples was determined based
on cinnamaldehyde and coumarin content, leading to the conclusion that
most of the cinnamon used was of the Indonesian variety (C. burmannii)
which has higher coumarin content, is cheaper and accounts for 90
percent of US cinnamon imports in the past five years.
Surprisingly, despite cinnamon's widespread use as a flavouring in a
wide range of foods and its growing popularity as a 'miracle cure' for
everything from diabetes to weight loss, this is the first published
study in the US that analyzes the coumarin content of cinnamon. As such
this is also the first American study that affirms Ceylon Cinnamon's low
coumarin content - a fact long known to European researchers and
industry insiders.
While coumarin has been banned in the US as a food additive since
1954, its presence is mostly associated with artificial vanilla (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/[email protected]://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/[email protected]://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/[email protected]://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/[email protected]://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/[email protected]://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/[email protected]://en.wiki
The JAFC article warns that ingesting substantial amounts of coumarin
on a daily basis may pose a health risk to individuals who are more
sensitive to the compound. The researchers are calling for the
establishment of a Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) and maximum limits for
coumarin in foods marketed in the US.
European health agencies already recognize the adverse side effects
of coumarin and EU regulations specify a TDI for coumarin of 0.1
milligrams of coumarin per kilogram for food products. But setting such
limits doesn't ensure compliance. Recent tests by a leading independent
consumer protection group warned that coumarin levels in a variety of
cookies, cereals and rice puddings sold in Germany were up to 20 times
the European legal limit.
The US study, which establishes the occurrence of high coumarin
levels in popular foods as well as health supplements, is bound to
attract the attention of consumer groups and open the door to scrutiny
of cinnamon additives by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the
federal agency that oversees and sets guidelines for food safety.
Wickremesinghe believes Sri Lankan authorities should seize the
opportunity and take proactive measures, such as promotional events by
foreign missions, contacting food watchdogs and making oversight bodies
such as the FDA and Health Canada in North America aware of the study,
in order to maximize the leverage potential of Ceylon Cinnamon.
Sri Lanka's share of the world cinnamon market is around 22 percent
while its share of the US market is slightly less 6 percent.
Upping the statistics to 10 percent of the international market is
well within reach, says Wickremasinghe, adding that every measure must
be taken to increase cinnamon production. "It will require doubling Sri
Lanka's current cinnamon growing area, improving agronomic practices and
extending cultivation into parts of the wet zone where cinnamon is not
currently growing," he says. He strongly believes coumarin free cinnamon
plants could be found in Sri Lanka and that they could be used to
introduce coumarin free cinnamon varieties.
Coincidentally, the study comes in the midst of a growing controversy
over "The Cinnamon Challenge," a prank that challenges teenagers to
shovel a spoonful of ground cinnamon into their mouths. The fad has gone
viral with over 40,000 videos posted on You Tube, nearly three million
Google hits and on the flip side, dozens of challengers ending up in
emergency rooms with serious problems such as collapsed lungs. Worried
parents are scrambling to put a stop to it, while bloggers, talk show
hosts, school authorities, and doctors are all weighing in.
Surprisingly, doctors are coming out saying cinnamon is 'totally
harmless' other than for an inert substance called cellulose which can
lodge in the lungs. No mention of coumarin.
"What better time to start talking about the facts of cinnamon and
the superiority of our cinnamon to the American public and pass the
message along to other countries?," asks Wickremasinghe.
The planets are definitely lined up in favour of a big push for
Ceylon Cinnamon.
Hassina Leelarathna is a Los Angeles based writer. Contact [email protected]://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/vanillahassin |