title: Acute effect of Ceylon cinnamon extract on postprandial glycemia: alpha-amylase inhibition, starch tolerance test in rats, and randomized crossover clinical trial in healthy volunteers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Postprandial hyperglycemia is a known risk factor for the development of several health disorders including type 2 diabetes, obesity, oxidative stress, and cardiovascular diseases. One encouraging approach for a better control of postprandial glycemia is to reduce carbohydrate digestion. Cinnamon extracts have been known for managing blood glucose. However, their effects on inhibiting digestion of carbohydrate have been poorly analyzed to date. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effect of a specific Ceylon cinnamon hydro-alcoholic extract (CCE) on carbohydrate digestion and post-meal blood glucose reduction.
  
  
  METHODS
  In vitro enzymatic assays and in vivo starch tolerance tests in rats were designed as preclinical assays. Then, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over clinical trial was conducted in 18 healthy female and male volunteers. Following the intake of 1 g of CCE, the subjects ate a standardized meal. Blood samples were collected during the 2 hours following the meal to measure glucose and insulin concentrations. Areas under the curves were calculated and statistical differences between the CCE and placebo groups were analyzed using the Mann Whitney-Wilcoxon test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CCE has demonstrated in the in vitro study that it inhibited pancreatic alpha-amylase activity with an IC50 of 25 μg/mL. In the in vivo study, CCE was shown to acutely reduce the glycemic response to starch in a dose-dependent manner in rats. This effect was significant from the dose of 12.5 mg/kg of body weight. In both, the in vitro and in vivo studies, the hydro-alcoholic extract has shown to be more efficacious than the aqueous extract. In the human clinical trial, 1 g of CCE lowered the area under the curve of glycemia between 0 and 120 min by 14.8% (P = 0.15) and between 0 and 60 min by 21.2% (P < 0.05) compared to the placebo. This effect occurred without stimulating insulin secretion. No adverse effects were reported.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that Ceylon cinnamon hydro-alcoholic extract (CCE) may provide a natural and safe solution for the reduction of postprandial hyperglycemia and therefore help to reduce the risks of developing metabolic disorders.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02074423 (26/02/2014).
authors.forename: Vickram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Beejmohun
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peytavy-Izard
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mignon
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Muscente-Paque
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Deplanque
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ripoll
authors.affiliation: Dialpha SAS, Parc Agropolis 2, 2196 Boulevard de la Lironde, Montferrier sur Lez 34980, France. n.chapal@dialpha.com.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chapal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects*; D002935:Cinnamomum zeylanicum / Q000737:chemistry*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019518:Postprandial Period; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013213:Starch / Q000378:metabolism*; D000516:alpha-Amylases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013213:Starch; D000516:alpha-Amylases