Cinnamon sticks, traditionally used to treat infertility

What are cinnamon sticks?
Medicinally it mainly refers to the dried bark of Cinnamomum cassia Presl, which is a member in the family Lauraceae. Since it is native to China, it is also known as Chinese cinnamon and Chinese cassia too. But sometimes it may also mean any of its close relatives – Cinnamomum verum (Ceylon cinnamon), Cinnamomum burmannii (Indonesian cinnamon), and Cinnamomum loureiroi (Vietnamese cinnamon, Saigon cinnamon). Hence, it is also called cinnamon bark or Cortex Cinnamomi in Latin name. In addition, bastard cinnamon is another nickname given by the English speaking world because of its cheaper price, compared to other types of cinnamon. In China, it is mainly produced in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, and Yunnan provinces. It is usually peeled in autumn. After that, it still needs to scrape off the cork and placed in the shade to dry. After gone through the above-mentioned process, it will curl into a role and look like a stick, which thus earn its name as "cinnamon stick." A variety of different specifications can be divided based on the stripped parts and quality. As a drug, it is usually used raw. What’s more, cassia buds is also used as a spice and cassia shoots (Gui Zhi) and young fruits (Gui Ding) are also used medicinally.

Cinnamomum cassia is an evergreen tree, 12 to 17 meters in height. Brown bark is aromatic. Shoots are slightly in the shape of rectangular prism. Alternate leaves are leathery, oblong to nearly lanceolate, 8 to 17cm long, 3.5 to 6cm wide, green and glossy above, gray-green and puberulous below, and with acute apex, obtuse base, entire margin, and stout 1 to 2cm petiole. Panicles are axillary or subterminal, 10 to 19cm long, and pubescent; small flowers are about 3cm in diameter; pedicel is about 5mm; perianth tube is about 2mm long, 6-lobed, yellow-green, oval, densely pubescent inside and outside; stamens are 9 and with oblong anthers; pistil is slightly shorter than stamens; oval ovary is with 1 room, 1 ovule, slender style, and slightly discoid stigma. Berries are oval or obovate, dark purple, about 12 to 13mm long, and with slightly truncated apex and persistent perianth outside. Seeds are in the shape of long oval and purple. Bloom time is from May to July and fruiting time is from flowing February to March. Cinnamon tree is usually cultivated in sandy soil and mountain slopes.

Cinnamon benefits
The Weekly World News, a famous Canadian magazine, ever published a piece of writing talking about the honey and cinnamon cures on January 17, 1995. Beatrice Dexter, the writer of this article, thought highly of this therapy and introduced in details how to use this mix to help a variety of complaints, such as arthritis, hair loss, bladder infections, toothache, cholesterol, colds, infertility, upset stomach, indigestion, heart disease, immune system problem, influenza, aging, acne, skin infections, overweight, cancer, fatigue, bad breath, hearing loss, high blood pressure, sore throat, influenza, etc. And its pharmacology has already offered a range of solid supports to such a claim.