The genus Cinnamomum (Laureaceae family) consists of 250 spices of trees and shrubs distributed in south-east Asia, China, and Australia. It is a small, evergreen tree, 10–15 m tall. The bark is widely employed as a spice, its leaves are ovate-oblong in shape, and 7–18 cm long. The flowers, arranged in panicles, have a greenish color and have a rather disagreeable odor. The fruit is a purple 1 cm berry containing a single seed. It is found in tropical rain forests, where it grows at various altitudes from highland slopes to lowland forests and occurs in both marshy places and on well-drained soils. However, in latitudes with seasonal climatic conditions, they become exceedingly rare. There are two main varieties of cinnamon namely the Ceylon or true cinnamon (Cinnamon zeylanicum) and cassia (Cinnamom aromaticum). C. zeylanicum is native to Sri Lanka and tropical Asia and exotic to several African countries, such as Comoros, Ghana, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The most important cinnamon oils in word trade are those from Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinnamomum cassia, and Cinnamomum camphora. The cinnamon essential oil composition varies depending on the geographical origin of the spice and the processing conditions. Likewise, it has been detected slight differences between the composition of volatile oils from buds, flowers, and fruits from C. zeylanicum. Jayaprakasha et al. (2000) reported that the oil from buds contains higher amounts of mono and sesquiterpenes, and most characteristic compounds such as cinnamaldehyde are found in flowers and fruits and in lower amounts in buds

The barks are commonly used in Cameroon as spices and for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Cinnamaldehyde (1; 75%) and camphor (56%) are the major compounds in oil and stem bark, respectively. Cinnamon extract inhibits the formation of toxic Aβ oligomers and prevents the toxicity of Aβ on neuronal PC12 cells. Oral administration of cinnamon extract induced to the reduction of plaques and improvement in cognitive behavior to aggressive Alzheimer's disease transgenic mice. The prevention or treatments of Alzheimer’s disease are mostly based on drugs inhibition of cholinesterase function or formation of amyloid plaque. Pathologies and dementias of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease (Lei et al., 2010) can result when tau proteins (tau proteins are proteins that stabilize microtubules) become defective and no longer stabilize microtubules properly. Chemicals able to prevent the tau aggregation may be a key factor in the development of new drugs.

The genus Cinnamomum (Laureaceae family) consists of 250 spices of trees and shrubs distributed in south-east Asia, China, and Australia. It is a small, evergreen tree, 10–15 m tall. The bark is widely employed as a spice, its leaves are ovate-oblong in shape, and 7–18 cm long. The flowers, arranged in panicles, have a greenish color and have a rather disagreeable odor. The fruit is a purple 1 cm berry containing a single seed. It is found in tropical rain forests, where it grows at various altitudes from highland slopes to lowland forests and occurs in both marshy places and on well-drained soils. However, in latitudes with seasonal climatic conditions, they become exceedingly rare. There are two main varieties of cinnamon namely the Ceylon or true cinnamon (Cinnamon zeylanicum) and cassia (Cinnamom aromaticum). C. zeylanicum is native to Sri Lanka and tropical Asia and exotic to several African countries, such as Comoros, Ghana, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The most important cinnamon oils in word trade are those from Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinnamomum cassia, and Cinnamomum camphora. The cinnamon essential oil composition varies depending on the geographical origin of the spice and the processing conditions. Likewise, it has been detected slight differences between the composition of volatile oils from buds, flowers, and fruits from C. zeylanicum. Jayaprakasha et al. (2000) reported that the oil from buds contains higher amounts of mono and sesquiterpenes, and most characteristic compounds such as cinnamaldehyde are found in flowers and fruits and in lower amounts in buds

The barks are commonly used in Cameroon as spices and for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Cinnamaldehyde (1; 75%) and camphor (56%) are the major compounds in oil and stem bark, respectively. Cinnamon extract inhibits the formation of toxic Aβ oligomers and prevents the toxicity of Aβ on neuronal PC12 cells. Oral administration of cinnamon extract induced to the reduction of plaques and improvement in cognitive behavior to aggressive Alzheimer's disease transgenic mice. The prevention or treatments of Alzheimer’s disease are mostly based on drugs inhibition of cholinesterase function or formation of amyloid plaque. Pathologies and dementias of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease (Lei et al., 2010) can result when tau proteins (tau proteins are proteins that stabilize microtubules) become defective and no longer stabilize microtubules properly. Chemicals able to prevent the tau aggregation may be a key factor in the development of new drugs.