CINNAMOMUM GENUS: A REVIEW ON ITS BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES Review Article MADHU KATYAYANI BALIJEPALLI 1* , AYUBA SUNDAY BURU 2 , RAGHAVENDRA SAKIROLLA 2 , MALLIKARJUNA RAO PICHIKA 2 1 Faculty of Medicine, MAHSA University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2 Received: 08 Feb 2016 Revised and Accepted: 07 Dec 2016 International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Email: madhu@mahsa.edu.my ABSTRACT The objective of this review is to systematically appraise the literature available to date on biological activities (in vitro and in vivo) of extracts and constituents from Cinnamomum. An extensive review of the literature available in various recognised databases including PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus on the biological activities of various species of the Cinnamomum were undertaken. The literature provided information on biological activities of the species of the genus Cinnamomum. Crude extracts and constituents from about 30 species of Cinnamomum displayed significant antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antioxidant, chemopreventive, cytotoxic, antidiabetic, hypolipidemic, antispasmodic, antiulcer, antiplatelet, anodyne, choleretic, immunostimulant, anaesthetic and sedative activities. Essential oil, aqueous/alcoholic extracts, cinnamaldehyde and proanthocyanidins were reported to be mainly responsible for biological activities displayed by most of the plants. Plants of Cinnamomum genus possess a wide spread of biological activities validating their use in traditional medicine. However, most of the available references lack information on active constituents, doses, duration of the treatment, storage conditions and positive controls for examining biological activities. The molecular mechanisms involved in eliciting biological activities were not comprehensively elucidated. Investigations to prove the safe use of these plants in traditional medicine are very limited. Thus, more studies on identification of bioactive constituents and their molecular mechanisms are needed. In addition, given that various species of Cinnamomum are being widely used in traditional medicine and culinary purposes, their main therapeutic aspects, toxicity, and adverse effects warrant further investigation in the future. Keywords: Cinnamomum, Biological activities, Ethnomedicinal uses, Bioactive constituents © 2017 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4. 0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ijpps.2017v9i2.11156 INTRODUCTION In rural areas of the developing countries all over the world, plants have been used in the treatment of numerous human diseases for thousands of years and are the primary source of medicine [1]. The secondary metabolites produced by plants has been proven to possess various biological activities and was templates for the development of novel drugs. There are a number of scientific reports on the use of medicinal plants and their secondary metabolites for the treatment of a wide array of diseases. Few natural products from plants have been recorded in pharmacopoeias. Cinnamomum is one such genus which has been extensively used for the treatment of wide-array of disorders in various traditional systems of medicine including western herbal medicine. Apart from the wide array of medicinal uses of the genus Cinnamomum, the inner barks of the many species, commonly known as cinnamon, is used as a spice for cooking purposes across the world. In Ayurvedic medicine [2], cinnamon is being used for the common cold, cough, diabetes, fever, flatulence, indigestion, sinusitis and sore throat. Also it is a component of, herbal toothpaste to reduce the incidence of dental caries; chair a spiced black tea beverage consumed widely in India and in Yogi Bhajan's "Yogi Tea", used as a general tonic tea for a varied range of symptoms including digestive disorders, blood purification, and immunostimulation and as an antiparasitic. Ayurvedic physicians prescribe cinnamon for people with a "kapha dosha," an Ayurvedic term used to define a body type described by cold, heavy, slow functioning and wet. Cinnamon is being prescribed in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for cold, diarrhoea, asthma, as an appetiser; to strengthen the uterus and increase fertility in women [2]. In Europe [2], cinnamon is used as a warming herb for the treatment of ailments associated with "cold". Cinnamon bark is approved by German health authorities (Commission E) for its use as an antispasmodic for mild gastrointestinal spasms, an appetiser, and for digestive disorders such as indigestion, bloating and gas. In western herbal medicine [2], herbalists prescribe cinnamon for diabetes, diarrhoea, indigestion, nausea, toothache, and vomiting. Cinnamon oil is added in a few kinds of toothpaste for its antimicrobial properties and its capacity to reduce halitosis. The major constituent of cinnamon oil is eugenol which is still being widely used as a local anaesthetic and antibacterial agent in dental practice. To the best of our knowledge, only two review articles focusing on a particular species of genus cinnmaomum were published in the literature. One article [3] reviewed the ethnobotanical uses of cinnamomum species available in Tamilnadu, India. Another article [4] reviewed the phytoconstituents, ethnobotanical and pharmacological uses of Cinnamomum zeylanicum. With the objective of providing an eagle’s eye view on scientific literature available on biological activities of genus Cinnamomum and for the benefit of those who are interested in Natural Products research we herewith made an attempt to review the entire available literature on biological activities of Cinnamomum genus. In this review article, the scientifically proven biological activities of all the species from the genus Cinnamomum were reported. Literature searches were performed using a keyword ‘cinnamomum’ in the databases; PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar (all from inception to August 2016). All the biological studies including ex vivo, in vitro and in vivo studies related to the species of the genus Cinnamomum published in the English language were included. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ISSN- 0975-1491 Vol 9, Issue 2, 2017