Metabolic Syndrome by Akhlaq A. Farooqui

Author:Akhlaq A. Farooqui
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer New York, New York, NY

6.2.5 Effect of Cinnamon on Metabolic Syndrome

Cinnamon has been used as a spice and as traditional herbal medicine for centuries in Southeast Asia. In addition to containing polyphenolic compounds (proanthocyanidins and procyanidin), epicatechin, camphene, eugenol, phenol, salicylic acid, and tannins, cinnamon also contains manganese, dietary fiber, iron, and calcium. Cinnamon contains three major compounds—cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate, and cinnamyl alcohol. In rodents and humans, cinnamon polyphenol (Fig. 6.9) produces anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor, cardiovascular, cholesterol-lowering, and immunomodulatory effects. In vitro studies have demonstrated that cinnamon may act as insulin mimetic to potentiate insulin activity or to stimulate cellular glucose metabolism. In patients with type II diabetes, cinnamon extracts have beneficial effects in reducing fasting plasma glucose, cholesterol, and triacylglycerols (Khan et al. 2003; Ziegenfuss et al. 2006). In overweight patients (Ziegenfuss et al. 2006; Roussel et al. 2009), nutritional intake of cinnamon also improves insulin sensitivity leading to beneficial antioxidant effects. In chow diet-fed rats, cinnamon extracts enhance insulin-stimulated insulin receptor β and insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) tyrosine phosphorylation levels and IRS-1/phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PtdIns 3K) in skeletal muscle. Extensive in vitro studies have indicated that cinnamon improves insulin resistance by inhibiting and reversing impairments in insulin signaling in skeletal muscle. In adipose tissues, cinnamon acts by increasing the regulation of genes related to insulin signaling (CD36, LPL, FAS, GLUT4, and ACO) and blocking lipogenesis in adipose tissue (Sheng et al. 2008; Qin et al. 2009, 2010). Extensive in vitro studies have indicated that cinnamon improves insulin resistance by preventing and reversing impairments in insulin signaling in skeletal muscle. In adipose tissue, cinnamon increases the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors including, PPARγ (Sheng et al. 2008; Qin et al. 2009, 2010). In addition, in mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes, cinnamon extracts also downregulate the expression of genes encoding insulin signaling pathway proteins including GSK3β, IGF-1R, IGF-2R, and PtdIns K, which may contribute to the potential health benefits of this phytochemical (Cao et al. 2010). Cinnamon also improves cholesterol levels, systolic blood pressure, and postprandial glucose levels in rodents. In T2DM patients, cinnamon lowers hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) by 0.83 % compared with usual care alone lowering HbA1C by 0.37 % in a randomized, controlled trial (Crawford 2009).

Fig. 6.9Chemical structures of garlic components and proanthocyanidins from cinnamon

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