Cinmon may prevent bowel cancer

Washington, June 17: A compound derived from cinmon is a potent inhibitor of colorectal or bowel cancer, a study shows. The study found that adding cinmaldehyde, the compound that gives cinmon its distinctive flavour and smell, to the diet protected mice against colorectal cancer. The animals’ cells had acquired the ability to protect themselves against exposure to a carcinogen through detoxification and repair.

“This is a significant finding,” said Don Zhang at University of Arizo College of Pharmacy and Cancer Center. “Because colorectal cancer is aggressive and associated with poor prognoses, there is an urgent need to develop more effective strategies against this disease,” Zhang noted.

Since cinmon is a common food additive already considered safe — it’s not a synthetic, novel drug — a study in humans may not be too far off. The next step in the research is to test whether cinmon, as opposed to cinmaldehyde, prevents cancer using this same cancer model. “Given cinmon’s important status as the third-most-consumed spice in the world, there’s relatively little research on its potential health benefits. If we can ascertain the positive effects of cinmon, we would like to leverage this opportunity to potentially improve the health of people around the globe,” said Georg Wondrak, associate professor at University of Arizo College of Pharmacy. (IANS)