Witnessed by: TCM · Western · Unani
Cassia cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia), of the Lauraceae family. Evergreen tree with aromatic leathery leaves; the inner bark and the slender twigs are stripped and dried; native range: Southern China and mainland Southeast Asia; long cultivated for its bark and twigs. Globally recognized as rou gui (肉桂, bark) · gui zhi (桂枝, twig) in Chinese, salikha (سليخة) in Arabic, and Chinese cinnamon, bastard cinnamon, cassia bark, cinnamon twig in English. The part used is bark (rou gui) and young twig (gui zhi). Rolled quills of thick reddish-brown bark, harder and coarser than true cinnamon, with a hot, sweet, pungent bite; the twig is woody and milder, warmly aromatic.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
CASSIA CINNAMON
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- cassia cinnamon
- Scientific name
- Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J.Presl
- Family
- Lauraceae
Form
- Part used
- bark (rou gui) and young twig (gui zhi)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent · sweet
- Western
- aromatic · pungent · sweet
- Unani
- pungent · aromatic
Temperature
TCM: warm (twig, gui zhi) · hot (bark, rou gui)
Western: hot (a warming stimulant)
Unani: hot (& dry, 2nd–3rd degree)
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses converge — a decidedly hot, pungent, warming bark in every reading
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Heart · Lung · Bladder · Kidney · Spleen · Liver
- Western
- circulation · digestion · stomach
- Unani
- stomach · liver · heart · brain
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- the twig (gui zhi) releases the exterior and unblocks the yang, warms and frees the channels and collaterals, and promotes qi transformation in the Bladder; the bark (rou gui) warms the Kidney and Spleen yang, disperses deep cold to stop pain, and leads floating fire back to its source
- Western
- warming aromatic carminative, stimulant, mild astringent and antispasmodic; diaphoretic in hot infusion
- Unani
- muharrik (stimulant), kaasir-e-riyah (carminative), muqawwi-e-meda (stomachic), mufatteh-e-sudad (deobstruent), qabid (astringent) and muqawwi-e-qalb (cardiac tonic)
Cautions
Contraindications: heat patterns and yin deficiency with heat, bleeding disorders and heavy menstruation, and pregnancy (the warming, moving bark)
Toxicity: cassia is high in coumarin — large or prolonged medicinal doses may burden the liver; otherwise well tolerated as a culinary spice
Interactions
- Western
- anticoagulants: coumarin content may add to bleeding risk · antidiabetic agents: cassia lowers blood glucose, additive effect · hepatotoxic drugs: coumarin may add to liver burden with chronic high intake
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