Java cinnamon

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• Batavia cinnamon
• Batavia-cassia
• Indonesian cinnamon
• Indonesian-cassia
• Java cinnamon
• Java-cassia
• Korintje-cassia
• Padang cinnamon
• Padang-cassia
• korintje
• Cinnamon tree
• Padang cassia

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Persea dulcis
• Cinnamomum burmanni var. chinense
• Cinnamomum nitidum
• Persea nitida
• Cinnamomum burmanni var. kiamis
• Cinnamomum dulce var. ammannii
• Cinnamomum burmanni var. angustifolium
• Laurus burmanni
• Laurus dulcis
• Cinnamomum mutabile
• Cinnamomum chinense
• Cinnamomum ammannii
• Cinnamomum hainanense
• Cinnamomum dulce
• Cinnamomum suaveolens
• Cinnamomum thunbergii
• Cinnamomum miaoshanense
• Cinnamomum macrostemon
• Cinnamomum mindanaense
• Cinnamomum dulce var. sieboldii
• Cinnamomum dulce var. thunbergii

Regional and Traditional Names

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant, Cinnamomum burmannii, belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta. Within the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae, it is classified under the order Laurales and the family Lauraceae. Finally, it is identified by its genus, Cinnamomum.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a diverse geographical distribution spanning several distinct regions across the globe. In West-Central Tropical Africa, it can be found specifically around the Gulf of Guinea Islands. Its range extends to the Western Indian Ocean, where it is documented in Mauritius. Within China, the species is distributed across South-Central regions as well as the Hainan province. Additionally, it is present in the Southeast portion of China, completing its wide ecological footprint.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Life history

The life history of Cinnamomum burmannii is characterized by its status as a perennial plant, allowing it to persist through multiple growing seasons and establish a long-term presence in its natural habitat. Throughout its development, the species maintains an evergreen habit, ensuring that its foliage remains lush and functional year-round rather than undergoing seasonal shedding. This combination of a perennial lifecycle and evergreen nature supports a continuous metabolic activity, enabling the plant to steadily accumulate biomass and develop the aromatic bark for which it is known.

Deciduousness :

evergreen

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Cinnamomum burmannii is characterized by its growth form as a woody tree that reaches a mean plant height of approximately 15 m. As a terrestrial organism, it grows in soil environments rather than aquatic or semi-aquatic habitats, and it functions as an independent species without parasitic tendencies. The plant is strictly self-supporting, lacking the climbing or vining habits of lianas, and it does not exhibit epiphytic behavior, remaining firmly established as a terrestrial woody plant.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

self-supporting

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Growth form :

tree

Parasite :

independent

Plant height mean:

15 m

Woodiness :

woody

Physiology

The physiology of Cinnamomum burmannii is characterized by a C3 photosynthetic pathway, which dictates its carbon fixation processes and metabolic efficiency. The plant's vegetative structure includes leaves that typically measure between 3 cm and 4 cm in width, with a maximum leaf length reaching 10 cm. In terms of its structural composition, the stem exhibits specific density (SSD) variations ranging from a minimum of 460 mg/cm³ to a maximum of 520 mg/cm³, with an average stem specific density of 490 mg/cm³. Additionally, this species does not function as a nitrogen fixer, meaning it relies on external soil nitrogen sources rather than symbiotic nitrogen-fixing processes.

Leaf length max:

10 cm

Leaf width max:

4 cm

Leaf width min:

3 cm

Nitrogen fixer :

no

Photosynthetic pathway :

C3

Stem specific density (SSD) max:

520 mg/cm³

Stem specific density (SSD) mean:

490 mg/cm³

Stem specific density (SSD) min:

460 mg/cm³

Reproduction

The reproduction of Cinnamomum burmannii is characterized by the development of fruit classified as a berry. These fruits are indehiscent, meaning they do not split open at maturity to release their contents, but instead rely on the decay or consumption of the fleshy fruit to facilitate seed dispersal. The seeds contained within the fruit are uniform in size, with a consistent seed mass recorded at 0.0973 g, representing the minimum, maximum, and mean values for the species.

Dehiscence :

indehiscent

Fruit type :

berry

Seed mass mean:

0.0973 g

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Cinnamomum burmanni has 3 reported plant parts identified across 7 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include leaf, stem, fruit.

Leaf

1. Food chemistry: X
2. Phytochemistry
3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Journal of Asian natural products research

Stem

1. Journal of natural products
2. Archives of pharmacal research

Fruit

1. Food chemistry: X

Chemicals

Cinnamomum burmanni has 92 reported phytochemicals identified across 7 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include cinnamaldehyde, CINNAMIC ACID, Flavonoids, coumarin, trans-Cinnamaldehyde.

cinnamaldehyde

1. Archives of pharmacal research
2. NPJ science of food
3. Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica
4. Reviews on recent clinical trials
5. BMC plant biology

CINNAMIC ACID

1. Bioinformation
2. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
3. Journal of diabetes
4. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
5. Advances in experimental medicine and biology

Flavonoids

1. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
2. Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Frontiers in plant science
4. Zhong yao cai = Zhongyaocai = Journal of Chinese medicinal materials
5. Frontiers in pharmacology

coumarin

1. Archives of pharmacal research
2. Reviews on recent clinical trials
3. Molecular nutrition & food research

trans-Cinnamaldehyde

1. Scientific reports
2. Food chemistry: X
3. Journal of pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences : a publication of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Societe canadienne des sciences pharmaceutiques

(E)-Cinnamaldehyde

1. PloS one
2. BMC complementary medicine and therapies

2-Methoxycinnamaldehyde

1. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology
2. Journal of ethnopharmacology

CALCIUM

1. Dr. Duke
2. Advances in experimental medicine and biology

IRON

1. Dr. Duke
2. Advances in experimental medicine and biology

MANGANESE

1. Dr. Duke
2. Advances in experimental medicine and biology

Activities

Cinnamomum burmanni has 218 reported activities identified across 7 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant, Antibacterial, Antidiabetic, Anticancer, Analgesic.

Antioxidant

1. Dr. Duke
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
3. FEBS open bio
4. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis
5. Journal of cellular and molecular medicine

Antibacterial

1. Dr. Duke
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
3. ACS applied materials & interfaces
4. PloS one
5. Pharmaceutical biology

Antidiabetic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
3. Phytotherapy research : PTR
4. Pharmaceutical biology
5. Advances in experimental medicine and biology

Anticancer

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
3. Advances in experimental medicine and biology

Analgesic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Planta

Antifatigue

1. Dr. Duke
2. Frontiers in pharmacology

Antimicrobial

1. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM
2. Advances in experimental medicine and biology

Antimutagenic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Mutation research

Hepatoprotective

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry

Hypoglycemic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of diabetes

Preparations

Cinnamomum burmanni has 40 reported preparations identified across 7 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported preparations include bark, essential oil, extracts, methanol extracts, water extracts.

Bark

1. Phytotherapy research : PTR
2. Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.)
3. The Indian journal of medical research

Essential oil

1. Journal of the science of food and agriculture
2. Scientific reports
3. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Extracts

1. Fitoterapia
2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
3. Phytotherapy research : PTR

Methanol extracts

1. Pharmaceutical biology
2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
3. Parasitology research

Water extracts

1. BMC complementary and alternative medicine
2. Parasitology research

70 % ethanol extract

1. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology

95% ethanol extract

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Cc-ee

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Cinnamomum cassia bark

1. Journal of separation science

Cinnamon extracts

1. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology