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CINNAMON. 34()

CINNAMOMUM—CINNAMON.
CASSIA BARK.
Source.—The best variety of cinnamon is obtained from
Ceylon, and is the prepared bark of a tree of the natural order
Lauracea.
It is in the form of long, cylindrical pieces, thin, smooth, and
of a yellow-brown color, with a fragrant odor, and a warm,
sweetish, aromatic and slightly astringent taste. It contains a
volatile oil, a slight amount of tannic acid, an acid peculiar to
itself, chinamic ac'id^ mucilage, lignin, etc.
Medical Properties and Action.—Cinnamon is an aromatic
stimulant and astringent, being more powerful as a local than as
a general stimulant. Its medicinal virtues principally reside in a
volatile oil, oleum cinnamomi.
Therapeutic Uses.— Cinnamon is chiefly used as an adjunct to
other medicines, being seldom prescribed alone, though it is
capable of allaying nausea and vomiting, and also relieving
flatulence. Combined with chalk and with other astringents, it
is well adapted for the treatment of diarrhoea. A strong
decoction of cinnamon made by boiling one pound of the Ceylon
sticks in a closed vessel for eight hours in three pints of water
until the quantitv is reduced to one pint, is recommended by Dr.
Carne Ross for the pain of cancer. Dose is one-half pint taken
during the 24 hours soon after meals.
Dose.—Of cinnamon, gr. x to 5ss of the powder; of the
tincture, the dose is foj to foiij-
Oil of Cinnamon-— Oleum Cinnamomi— is obtained by dis-
tillation, and when fresh, is of a light yellow color, which
becomes deeper by age, and ultimately red. It has an excessively
hot, pungent taste. It is often employed to conceal the taste of
other medicines, and is a powerful local stimulant. Large doses
of the oil of cinnamon are poisonous, producing an inflamed and
corroded condition of the gastric and intestinal mucous
membrane.
Dose.—Of the oil of cinnamon, gtt. j or gtt. ij, administered
in the form of an emulsion.