Cinnamon Consumption Improves Clinical Symptoms and Inflammatory Markers in Women With Rheumatoid Arthritis

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study evaluated the effect of cinnamon on disease activity, serum levels of some inflammatory markers, and cardiovascular risk factors in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: In this randomized double-blind clinical trial, 36 women with RA were randomly divided to 2 groups, receiving 4 capsules of either 500 mg cinnamon powder or placebo daily for 8 weeks. Fasting blood sugar (FBS), lipid profile, liver enzymes, serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), blood pressure, and clinical symptoms were determined at baseline and end of the week 8.

Results: At the end of the study, there was a significant decrease of serum levels of CRP (p < 0.001) and TNF-α (p < 0.001) in the cinnamon group as compared to the placebo group. Diastolic blood pressure was also significantly lower in the intervention group compared with the control group (p = 0.017). Compared with placebo, cinnamon intake significantly reduced the Disease Activity Score (DAS-28) (p < 0.001), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (p < 0.001), and tender (TJC) (p < 0.001) and swollen joints (SJC) (p < 0.001) counts. No significant changes were observed for FBS, lipid profile, liver enzymes, or ESR.

Conclusion: Cinnamon supplementation can be a safe and potential adjunct treatment to improve inflammation and clinical symptoms in patients with RA.

KEYWORDS:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• cinnamon
• arthritis
• randomized controlled trial
• inflammation

Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This study is based on the results of the MSc thesis of Mahan Rezaeyan Safar, which was financially supported by the Deputy of Research Affairs of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran (grant number NRC9420).