Cinnamon research holds promise.

• Position: Cancer Inhibitors - Brief article

A compound derived from cinnamon is a potent inhibitor of colorectal cancer, indicates research conducted at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy and Cancer Center, Tucson.

Georg Wondrak and Donna Zhang, professors in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, completed a study in which cinnamaldehyde--the compound that gives cinnamon its distinctive flavor and smell--when added to subjects' diet, protected against colorectal cancer. In response to cinnamaldehyde, the cells acquired the ability to protect themselves against exposure to a carcinogen through detoxification and repair.

"This is a significant finding," says Zhang. "Because colorectal cancer is aggressive and associated with poor prognoses, there is an urgent need to develop more effective strategies against this disease."

Adds Wondrak: "Given...