Cinnamon Bark – 1 lb (454 g)

Cinnamon Bark, known in Chinese as 肉桂 (Ròuguì) and scientifically as Cortex Cinnamomi, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Cinnamon Bark carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Cinnamon Bark helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Cinnamon Bark provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Cinnamon Bark has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Cinnamon Bark, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This herb is also known as Mugui, Daguai, Tonggui, and Yugui. It is the bark of Cinnamomum cassia Presl, a plant of the Lauraceae family. It is mainly produced in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan, and other regions. The bark is mostly harvested in autumn by selecting appropriately aged trees, peeling off the bark to a certain length and width, pressing it into shape inside wooden ‘Gui clamps,’ then drying it in the shade and finally under weak light.

[Properties] Taste: pungent, sweet; nature: strongly hot. Enters the Kidney, Spleen, Heart, and Liver meridians.

[Actions] Tonifies fire and assists yang; guides fire back to the source; disperses cold and relieves pain; warms the channels and unblocks the vessels.

[Applications]
1. Used for kidney yang deficiency and diminished life gate fire, manifesting as aversion to cold and cold limbs, cold and painful lower back and knees, impotence, spermatorrhea, premature ejaculation, cold uterus causing infertility, frequent urination, etc. Often combined with Aconite (Fuzi) and used together with Rehmannia glutinosa (Shudi), Cornus officinalis (Shanyurou), etc., as in Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan. If kidney qi fails to transform fluids causing urinary difficulty or edema, often combined with Poria (Fuling), Alisma (Zexie), etc. For severe kidney yang deficiency with internal cold and yin excess leading to upper excess and lower deficiency, asthma with phlegm obstruction, weak pulse, and cold limbs, often combined with Aconite, sulfur, and Heixi Dan as in the formula Heixi Dan from the Bureau of Prescriptions. For lower source deficiency cold with floating deficiency yang and symptoms of upper heat and lower cold, dizziness, flushed cheeks, oily sweating, and cold lower limbs, combined with Rehmannia, Ginseng, Schisandra, Dragon Bone, Oyster Shell, etc., aiming to guide fire back to the source. For heart-kidney disharmony where kidney water fails to nourish heart fire and heart fire fails to descend, causing palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, and soreness of the lower back and knees, can be combined with Coptis (Huanglian), as in Jiao Tai Wan.
2. Used for epigastric and abdominal cold pain, deficiency cold vomiting and diarrhea, and cold hernia. For epigastric and abdominal cold pain and persistent diarrhea, can be taken alone as a powder or combined with Dried Ginger (Ganjiang), Galangal (Gaoliangjiang), White Peony (Baishao), etc. For chronic deficiency cold dysentery, combined with Dried Ginger, Donkey-hide Gelatin (Ejiao), Angelica (Danggui), etc. For cold hernia abdominal pain, combined with Lindera (Wuyao), Aquilaria (Chenxiang), Prepared Evodia (Zhizhu Yu), etc.
3. Used for dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, and postpartum abdominal pain due to blood stasis, often combined with Angelica (Danggui), Ligusticum (Chuanxiong), Safflower (Honghua), etc.
4. Used for cold-damp painful obstruction, lumbar pain, traumatic injury, yin sores, and vaginal discharge. For cold-damp painful obstruction and lumbar pain, combined with Notopterygium (Qianghuo), Angelica pubescens (Duhuo), Gentiana macrophylla (Qinjiao), etc. For chronic painful obstruction with liver and kidney deficiency, combined with Taxillus (Sangjisheng), Eucommia (Duzhong), etc. For traumatic injury with swelling and pain, often combined with Frankincense (Ruxiang), Myrrh (Moyao), Corydalis (Yanhuwu), Sappanwood (Sumu), etc. For yin sores and vaginal discharge, often combined with Rehmannia, Deer Horn Glue (Lujiao Jiao), Ephedra (Mahuang), White Mustard Seed (Baijiezi), as in Yanghe Tang. For chronic non-healing ulcers, combined with Astragalus (Huangqi), Angelica (Danggui) to promote tissue regeneration.
Additionally, for qi deficiency and blood deficiency syndromes, a small amount of this herb is often added to formulas that tonify qi and nourish blood, warming and promoting yang qi and invigorating qi and blood growth, as in Shi Quan Da Bu Wan and Ren Shen Yang Rong Tang.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 1–4.5 g, added near the end of decoction; or used in pills and powders.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in yin deficiency with fire blazing, internal excess heat, reckless bleeding due to blood heat, and pregnancy. Avoid combining with red halloysite (Chishizhi).

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: Cinnamon bark contains volatile oil, whose main component is cinnamaldehyde, and also contains small amounts of cinnamic acid aldehyde ester, eugenol, cinnamic acid, ethyl cinnamate. It also contains diterpenoids such as cinncassiol A, acetyl cinncassiol A, cinnamyl alcohol, and glucosides.
2. Pharmacological effects: Cinnamon bark has anti-inflammatory, sedative, analgesic, exterior-releasing, and anticonvulsant effects; it can increase coronary and cerebral blood flow in isolated guinea pig hearts and cause peripheral vasodilation; cinnamaldehyde enhances myocardial contractility and heart rate in isolated guinea pig hearts and raises blood pressure; cinnamaldehyde inhibits platelet aggregation and has anticoagulant effects; cinnamon oil mildly stimulates the gastrointestinal tract, promotes saliva and gastric juice secretion, enhances digestion, and relieves gastrointestinal smooth muscle spasms and spastic pain. Cinnamon extracts significantly reduce nonspecific immune function and antibody production; cinnamon polysaccharide AX enhances the phagocytic function of the reticuloendothelial system in mice; diterpene lactones in cinnamon have anti-complement and anti-allergic effects; cinnamon has certain antitumor effects and can induce tumor necrosis factor production; cinnamaldehyde has strong antifungal activity, especially against dermatophytes; cinnamon oil strongly inhibits Gram-positive bacteria.
3. Clinical reports: 1) Infant diarrhea: using clove 5–10 g, cinnamon bark 4–6 g, costus root 5–10 g, ground into fine powder placed in a gauze bag and tied on the infant’s navel overnight. Among 66 cases treated, 56 cured, 6 markedly effective, 4 improved; generally effective within 1–3 treatments. [Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1985, 26(6):75] 2) Infant drooling: cinnamon powder (single dose) ground into fine powder, mixed with vinegar to a paste, evenly spread on two pieces of gauze, applied to bilateral Yongquan acupoints before sleep and fixed with tape, removed next morning. Six cases of infant drooling due to spleen yang deficiency treated, all effective, generally cured after 3–5 applications. [Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1983,(8):78] 3) Chilblains: Using Shan Gui ointment No. 1 (400 mg scopolamine hydrobromide, 3 g cinnamon bark, 2 g camphor, finely powdered and mixed with 9 g vaseline) and Shan Gui ointment No. 2 (100 g No. 1 ointment mixed with 250,000 units powdered oxytetracycline), treating 1804 person-times with 812 followed up, all cured. [Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 1987, 7(1):49] 4) Psoriasis and urticaria: oral cinnamon phenylpiperazine 25–50 mg three times daily. Among 19 psoriasis cases treated for 4–8 weeks, total effective rate was 84.1%; among 23 urticaria cases, total effective rate was 91.2%. [Journal of Henan Medical College, 1981,(2):385]

Additional product: Cinnamon Oil (Rouguiyou) is the volatile oil obtained by steam distillation of the dried branches and leaves of cinnamon bark. It has wind-dispelling and stomach-strengthening effects. Internal use: 0.02–0.2 ml per dose, 0.06–0.6 ml daily.