ABSTRACT
Cinnamon and cassia are among the earliest known spices used by humankind. Frequent references to these spices are available in both pre-biblical and post-biblical writings. The cinnamon of commerce is the dried inner bark of the tree Cinnamomum verum ( syn. C. zeylanicum), belonging to the family Lauraceae. It is native to Sri Lanka where it is grown on a large scale, and exported (known in trade as Ceylon cinnamon or Sri Lankan cinnamon). Cassia or cassia cinnamon comes from different sources, the important ones being the Chinese cassia (C. cassia, syn. C. aromaticum), and Indonesian cassia (C. burmannii). Chinese cassia is indigenous to the China-Vietnam region and is an important spice traded in the international market. Indonesian cassia is a native of the Sumatera-Java region of Indonesia and is exported on a large scale to the USA. The Indian cassia comes from C. tamala and a few other related species (C. impressinervium, C. bejolghota), which are indigenous to the north-eastern region of India.
