Cinnamomum

zeylanicum
Lauraceae
 Cultivation
• Raised from seeds
• Sandy , rich soil & Sheltered , damp
climate needed.
• Seeds (4-5) sown in holes 2mts
apart
• When 4-6 yrs old it is cut close to
the ground .From this 4-7 shoots
arise
• When shoots are 18 – 24 months
old they were cut & leafy tops
removed
 Collection
• Shoots rubbed with knives to loosen the
bark
• Ringed at nodes 30cm apart & cut with
copper / brass knives and the bark is peeled
• Peeled bark stretched on a suitable wooden
stick , cork & cortex
• Dried for 24 hrs , sorted , placed one inside
the other
• Compound quills dried on wooden frames in
open air on wicker platforms raised about
1mt above ground level
• First dried in shade next day in direct sun
• Sorted into grades depending on
 Products
• Small pieces of quills & debris is
known as quillings & featherings
• Bark from large shoots which do not
peel well forms chips
• Quillings , featherings & chips used
for oil extraction
 Descriptio
n
• Shape long , slender flexible sticks
longitudinal lines
scars of leaves /shoots
• Colour dull pale brown
• Fracture short , splintery
• Odour aromatic & fragrant
• Taste warm,sweet ,agreeable
 Microscopy
• Outer pericyclic sclerenchyma
• Inner dark phloem traversed by fine
medullary rays
• Pericyclic sclerenchyma
3-4 cell wide with groups of pericyclic
fibers, sclereids & collapsed sieve tubes
• Phloem parenchymatous ,
yellowish brown walls with
starch
• Medullary rays bi seriate , widen as they
reach pericycle
• Idioblasts with volatile oil & mucilage
 Constituents & Uses
• Volatile oil cinnamaldehyde ,
eugenol
• Tannin & mucilage
• Inferior varieties are more
mucilaginous
Uses
• Carminative
• Flavouring agent
• Antiseptic
• Mild astringent