Cinnamon Controls Blood Glucose Metabolism in Prediabetic Individuals

Written by Joyce Smith, BS. Supplementation with cinnamon for twelve weeks improved FPG and glucose tolerance in prediabetic subjects and was safe and well-tolerated.

The prevalence of diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes (T2D), has risen dramatically over the past thirty years, affecting more than 460 million adults globally ¹. It is also the seventh leading cause of disability worldwide ², accounting for more than $320 billion in health care costs in the US alone ³.T2D susceptibility is much higher in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or those with increased  cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk than in  those with impaired  glucose tolerance (ICT)  ⁴. According to criteria used by the American Diabetes Association, approximately 38% of the U.S. population is prediabetic ⁵ of which approximately 3%-11% will progress to type 2 diabetes annually ⁶. While treatment options such as lifestyle modifications (LSM) ⁶, anti-diabetic drugs ⁶, weight loss medications ⁷, and metabolic surgery ⁸ are available,  the identification of effective, safe, and cost-effective strategies for type 2 diabetes prevention remains a clinically relevant unmet need, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Neutraceuticals have not been an effective treatment ⁹. However, over the years, randomized clinical trials of the anti-inflammatory household spice, cinnamon, have shown promise. Commonly used to treat inflammatory diseases such as arthritis ¹⁰, cinnamon has demonstrated a 10-15% reduction in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) from baseline when used in concentrations of 500-6,000 mg over a one to four month duration.

To determine cinnamon’s effect on blood glucose levels, a randomized, double-blind clinical trial ¹¹ investigated the effects of cinnamon supplementation in 51 prediabetes. The participants, ages 50 – 70 and of two ethnic groups  (37 Korean, 14 other) were allocated to a 1:1 ratio of either 500 mg of cinnamon or placebo three times daily for 12 weeks. Laboratory tests were performed at baseline and at 6 and 12 weeks. Primary outcome was the between-group difference in FPG at 12 weeks from baseline. Secondary endpoints included the change in 2-hr plasma glucose (PG) of the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and the change in the PG area under the curve (AUC) derived from the OGTT.

After the 12-week intervention, the significant mean between-group difference in FPG was 5 mg/dL (114 ± 8 vs 108 ± 11; P<0.05) with FPG remaining stable in the cinnamon group and rising significantly in the placebo group. When comparing cinnamon and placebo intervention results to their respective baselines, cinnamon, but not placebo, resulted in a significant decrease of both the AUC PG during the  OGTT (P<0.05) and of the 2-hr PG during the OGTT (P<0.05). There were no serious adverse events in either study group.

Limitations include a short study duration that could not clarify cinnamon’s effects or rate of progression, the inability to differentiate the differences in response to cinnamon between the IFG and IGT participants and lastly the study could not state definitively cinnamon’s mechanism of action.

Conclusions: In individuals with prediabetes, 12 weeks of cinnamon supplementation improved FPG and glucose tolerance, with a favorable safety profile. Longer and larger randomized controlled trials that address the impact of cinnamon on incident T2D and its potential role in remission of prediabetes are warranted.

Source: Romeo, Giulio R., Junhee Lee, Christopher M. Mulla, Youngmin Noh, Casey Holden, and Byung-Cheol Lee. “Influence of cinnamon on glycemic control in subjects with prediabetes: a randomized controlled trial.” Journal of the Endocrine Society (2020).

© Endocrine Society 2020. Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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Posted August 11, 2020.

Joyce Smith, BS, is a degreed laboratory technologist. She received her bachelor of arts with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Biology from  the University of Saskatchewan and her internship through the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine and the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She currently resides in Bloomingdale, IL.

References:

1. International Diabetes Federation. About Diabetes. 2020; https://www.idf.org/aboutdiabetes/what-is-diabetes/facts-figures.html. Accessed August 4, 2020.

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