What is the difference between cinnamon and cassia?

Cinnamon and cassia bark are very common in daily life and are widely used. However, due to some similarities between the two, many people easily confuse the two. In fact, as long as you observe carefully, you can find that they have many differences in plant origin, appearance, ingredients, functions and indications. Friends in need can learn more about the relevant knowledge.

1. Plant Source

Both are plants of the Lauraceae family. Cinnamon is the dried bark of the cinnamon plant of the Lauraceae family. Cassia bark (Sri Lankan cinnamon) is the bark of Cinnamon bark, Cinnamon bark, Cinnamon bark, Cinnamon bark, etc.

2. Appearance

Both are in the shape of a groove or a roll. Cinnamon: 0.2~0.8cm thick. The outer surface is gray-brown and slightly rough, with gray-white markings visible in some places; the inner surface is reddish-brown, slightly flat, with fine longitudinal lines, and oil marks can be seen when scratched. It is hard and brittle, easy to break, with an uneven cross section. The outer layer is brown and rough, the inner layer is reddish brown and oily, and there is a yellow-brown line between the two layers. The best ones are those with thin skin and thick flesh, purple-red cross-section, high oil content, strong aroma, sweet and slightly spicy taste, and no residue when chewed. Cinnamon: 0.1~0.2cm thick. The outer surface is black-brown to dark brown, with gray-white spots, cork or fish-scale peeling and turtle-like concave spots; the inner surface is reddish brown to black-brown, flat, with very fine longitudinal lines, and no oil marks when scratched. It is hard and brittle, easy to break, with a flat cross section, a gray outer layer, a reddish-brown inner layer, and yellow-brown rays between the two layers. The aroma is fresh and cool, similar to camphor, and the taste is slightly sweet and spicy. The ones with thin skin and strong aroma are better.

3. Ingredients

Both contain volatile oils (the main component is cinnamaldehyde), cinnamon about 1~2%; cassia bark about 1%, and the latter also contains eugenol, etc.

IV. Function and Indications

Cinnamon: spicy, sweet, and very hot. It enters the kidney, spleen, heart and liver meridians. Replenish fire and assist yang, guide fire back to its source, dispel cold and relieve pain, activate blood circulation and dredge menstruation. It is used for impotence, cold uterus, cold pain in the waist and knees, asthma due to kidney deficiency, dizziness due to yang deficiency, red eyes and sore throat, cold pain in the heart and abdomen, vomiting and diarrhea due to deficiency and cold, cold hernia, amenorrhea, and dysmenorrhea. Those with yin deficiency and excess fire should not take it, and pregnant women should take it with caution.

Cinnamon: spicy, warm. It enters the heart, liver, spleen and kidney meridians. Warms the spleen and stomach, dispels wind and cold, and unclogs blood vessels. It is used for cold abdomen and chest fullness, vomiting and choking, rheumatic arthralgia, falls and blood stasis, bloody diarrhea and intestinal wind. People with yin deficiency and fire should not take it. To sum up, cinnamon and cassia bark are similar in size but different in size, and can be distinguished by their thickness, color, surface and cross-sectional characteristics, and smell. Generally, cinnamon is mainly used as medicine (it has been included in all previous editions of the Pharmacopoeia except the 1953 edition); cassia bark is mainly used as a condiment in dishes (there is no special entry for cinnamon bark in the Compendium of Materia Medica, and it has not been included in all previous editions of the Pharmacopoeia). When using cinnamon, if the symptoms are as mentioned above and if it is indicated by the functions and indications of cinnamon, you can add cinnamon to dishes (but not as much as adding cinnamon bark to soups or dishes), but it is forbidden to use it in spring and summer. If you only want to use it as a condiment for dishes, it is better to choose cinnamon bark, which is generally sold in large Chinese medicine stores and Chinese medicine hospitals and is cheap.