How does cinnamon work?

Bioactive molecules found in cinnamon affect various physiological processes.^[1][2] For example, cinnamon extracts have been shown to have antimicrobial properties that inhibit bacterial and fungal growth and antioxidant properties that neutralize free radicals to help lower oxidative stress.^[1][2][3] Other in vitro studies have shown that cinnamon extracts and cinnamaldehyde can reduce inflammation by blocking NF-kB activity, reducing cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme activity, blunting nitric oxide (NO) production, and lowering the concentration of proinflammatory cytokines like interleukin 6 (IL-6).^[1][2] These beneficial effects on inflammation might explain how cinnamon supplementation can lower blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids, because conditions in which these variables are elevated are associated with low-grade chronic inflammation. Furthermore, cinnamon’s blood-glucose-lowering capacity might be caused by polyphenols that increase glucose uptake into cells by mimicking the function of insulin.^[1][4][5] However, the precise mechanisms by which cinnamon ingestion may improve certain outcomes are not fully understood and require further exploration.