Highlights
- •Cinnamon supplementation reduced total plasma cholesterol and triglycerides.
- •Effect is correlated with duration of treatment, but not with dose administered.
- •High-density lipoprotein was also significantly increased after removing 1 study from the analysis.
Background
Cinnamon is a rich botanical source of polyphenols, whose positive effects on blood
lipid concentrations have been hypothesized, but have not been conclusively studied.
Objective
The objective of the study was to systematically review and evaluate the effect of
administration of cinnamon on blood lipid concentrations.
Methods
We assessed 13 randomized controlled trials with 750 participants investigating the
effect of cinnamon supplementation on blood lipid concentrations. A meta-analysis
was performed using random effect models, with weighted mean differences (WMDs; with
95% confidence interval [CI]) for endpoints calculated using a random effects model.
Results
No statistically significant effect of cinnamon was observed on blood low-density
lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; WMD: −0.16 mmol/L [−6.19 mg/dL], 95% CI: −0.35, 0.03
[−13.53, 1.16], P = .10) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; WMD: 0.05 mmol/L [1.92 mg/dL],
95% CI: −0.03, 0.12 [−0.03, 4.64], P = .21) concentrations. However, a statistically significant reduction in blood triglycerides
(WMD: −0.27 mmol/L [−23.91 mg/dL], 95% CI: −0.39, −0.14 [−34.54, −12.40], P < .01) and total cholesterol concentrations (WMD: −0.36 mmol/L [−13.92 mg/dL], 95%
CI: −0.63, −0.09 [−24.36, −3.48], P < .01) was observed. HDL-C was significantly elevated after the omission of 1 study
(WMD: 0.04 mmol/L [1.54 mg/dL], 95% CI: 0.03, 0.06 [1.16, 2.32], P < .01) during our sensitivity analysis. A meta-regression analysis was conducted,
and no significant association was found between changes in lipid parameters and cinnamon
dose. In contrast, changes in blood levels of total cholesterol (slope: 0.09; 95%
CI: 0.02, 0.16; P < .01), LDL-C (slope: 0.05; 95% CI: 0.001, 0.10; P = .05) and triglycerides (slope: 0.06; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.09; P < .01) were significantly and positively associated with the duration of supplementation.
No statistically significant association was found between blood HDL-C changes and
duration of supplementation.
Conclusion
Cinnamon supplementation significantly reduced blood triglycerides and total cholesterol
concentrations without any significant effect on LDL-C and HDL-C.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 11, 2017
Accepted:
August 7,
2017
Received:
June 7,
2016
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 National Lipid Association. All rights reserved.
