CANELLACEAE

• Medicinal / Folk-medicinal aspects: The use of preparations of the bark, leaves, and stalks for external use in the treatment of inflammation, sores, and skin irritations has been documented. •
• Adverse effects: In common with other volatile oil containing plants, members of this family may be regarded as a minor dermatological hazard in those who are susceptible to developing a fragrance allergy. Members of this family are also known for their content of polygodial and other drimane sesquiterpene dialdehydes, which are hot to the taste, and known to be inducers or elicitors of allergic contact dermatitis in guinea pigs. •
• Veterinary aspects:  •

Twenty-three species of trees (or shrubs) in 5 genera have a markedly discontinuous distribution in South America, the West Indies, eastern Africa, and Madagascar.^a With the exception of the false Winter's bark (Canella winterana (L.) Gaertn.),^b these plants are unlikely to be encountered in cultivation outside the areas of their natural distribution.

^a https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77126585-1; accessed April 2025
^b https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/shrub_fact_sheets/canwina.pdf; accessed April 2025

Canella winterana (L.) Gaertn.

[syns Canella alba Murray, Laurus winterana L.]

Barbasco, Bahama White Wood, Canella, False Winter's Bark, Pepper Cinnamon, White Cinnamon, Wild Cinnamon, Cannelle Blanche, Weißer Zimtrindenbaum

von Reis Altschul (1973) found an herbarium note on a specimen collected in Puerto Rico stating that the plant is said to cause eruption of the skin.

According to Gracza (1980), the bark, which is used as a spice and for flavouring tobacco, yields eugenol, methyl eugenol, anethole, asarone, and other more minor components. In a study reported by Adams & Zanoni (1990), which was carried out on leaves of Canella winterana from the Dominican Republic, the essential oil was found to contain a large amount or myrcene (66%), with lesser amounts of caryophyllene (7%), cis-ocimene (5%), trans-ocimene (4%), and 1,8-cineole (4%), and no eugenol. But eugenol was found in oil from the bark. In a study reported by Abaul et al. (1995), which was carried out on bark and leaves from Canella winterana growing in Vieux-Bourg, Morne à l'Eau, Guadeloupe (French West Indies), the leaf oil was found to be rich in myrcene (68%), and the main constituents of the stem bark oil were 1,8-cineole (37%), terpinen-4-ol (11%), α-terpinyl acetate (9%), and α-terpineol (7%). This points to the probable occurrence of geographic/chemotypic variation.

Kioy et al. (1989) noted that the drimane sesquiterpene dialdehyde canellal [= muzigadial] had previously been found in this species. However, their reinvestigation of the stem bark of Canella winterana collected from the island of Grand Cayman identified the dialdehydes warburganal and mukaadial, and also myristicin and eugenol. See also Warburgia ugandensis Sprague below.

Winter's bark is derived from Drimys winteri J.R.Forst. & G.Forst., fam. Winteraceae.

Cinnamodendron dinisii Schwacke

[syns Capsicodendron dinisii (Schwacke) Occhioni, Capsicodendron pimenteira Hoehne]

Bastos et al. 1999 isolated and characterised the drimane sesquiterpene dialdehydes polygodial [= tadeonal], isopolygodial [= isotadeonal; = epipolygodial], and mukaadial from the stem bark of Capsicodendron dinisii. Polygodial has been shown experimentally by Stampf et al. (1982) to induce contact sensitivity in guinea pigs. See also Warburgia ugandensis Sprague below.

Cinnamosma fragrans Baill.

This shrub / tree, which is endemic to Madagascar, is the source of an essential oil known as saro oil or as mandravasarotra oil. The oil is used for aromatherapy but also as an externally applied remedy for muscular aches and pains, and as inhalation therapy for respiratory complaints.^a Geographical variation in the composition of the oil has been reported by Randrianarivelo et al. (2009): the oils isolated from the leaves of Cinnamosma fragrans collected in Mariarano (Madagascar) and in Tsaramandroso (Madagascar) were characterised by their high content of 1,8-cineole and of linalool respectively.

The drimane sesquiterpene dialdehyde cinnamodial [= ugandensidial] has been isolated from the bark of this species (Canonica et al. 1967, Brooks & Draffan 1969). See also Warburgia ugandensis Sprague below.

Cinnamosma Fragrans Leaf Oil [INCI; of uncertain composition (see Schmidt 2017)] is a recognised cosmetic product ingredient purported to have antimicrobial activity (Standing Committee on Cosmetic Products 2019, CosIng 2023).

^a https://www.aromaweb.com/essential-oils/saro-essential-oil.php; accessed April 2025

Warburgia salutaris (G.Bertol.) Chiov.

[syns Chibaca salutaris G.Bertol., Warburgia breyeri R.Pott]

Pepper Bark Tree

The ground bark, leaves, and stalks from this species are used in sub-Saharan Africa for a variety of traditional medicinal purposes both orally and topically. Powdered bark is applied to sores, and ointments made from pounded leaves and stalks, mixed with bark and any kind of fat, are used in cases of inflammation, sores and skin irritations (Maroyi 2014, Leonard & Viljoen 2015, Khumalo et al. 2019, Meddows-Taylor & Ramadwa 2025).

A study of the essential oils from the bark and from the leaves revealed that myrcene, cis-β-ocimene, and trans-β-ocimene were the major compounds in both stem–bark and leaves (Leonard & Viljoen 2015). Other investigators (Khumalo et al. 2019) identified the two major components of the bark essential oil as drimenol and nerolidol. Rabe & van Staden (2000) isolated the drimane sesquiterpene dialdehyde muzigadial from the bark, whereas Drewes et al. (2001) found that both the bark and the leaves contained polygodial and warburganal, noting also that there was geographic/chemotypic variation between samples in the ratio of these two dialdehydes. In a study reported by Khumalo et al. (2019), the most abundant drimane sesquiterpene dialdehydes in Warburgia salutaris were ugandensidial and 12α-acetal-polygodial, but polygodial and warburganal were also found. See also Warburgia ugandensis Sprague below.

Warburgia stuhlmannii Engl.

Wood Pepper

Citing an earlier source, Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk (1962) noted that the wood, which has an odour resembling that of sandalwood, yields to distillation a highly scented essential oil used in the manufacture of the more pungent oriental perfumes.

In a comparative study of the stem-bark drimane sesquiterpenes and leaf volatile oils of Warburgia ugandensis and Warburgia stuhlmannii, Kioy et al. (1990) found that the stem bark of both species yielded the dialdehydes warburganal, polygodial, mukaadial, and ugandensidial, with ugandensidial being the major sesquiterpene in Warburgia ugandensis whilst polygodial was the most abundant in Warburgia stuhlmannii. Further, there were no obvious chemical distinctions between the two taxa as regards the leaf volatile oils, which were almost identical, comprising over 50% myrcene together with cis-β-ocimene and trans-β-ocimene, and smaller amounts of linalool, drimenol, caryophyllene, etc. See also Warburgia ugandensis Sprague below.

Warburgia ugandensis Sprague

East African Greenbark, Kenya Greenheart, Pepper Bark Tree

The drimane sesquiterpene dialdehydes polygodial [= tadeonal], warburganal, muzigadial [= canellal], and ugandensidial [= cinnamodial], isolated from the bark of this species and of Warburgia stuhlmannii Engl. and Warburgia salutaris (G.Bertol.) Chiov. (see Brooks & Draffan 1969, Nakanishi & Kubo 1977, Kioy et al. 1990, Bastos et al. 1999, Maroyi 2014, Khumalo et al. 2019) are very hot to human taste (Szallasi et al. 1996, Kubo & Ganjian 1981). Polygodial and warburganal specifically, but also other pungent terpenoids possessing an unsaturated 1,4-dialdehyde moiety have been shown to resemble capsaicin from chilli peppers in their ability to act at vanilloid receptors (Szallasi et al. 1996, André et al. 2006). This explains in part the antinociceptive (analgesic) activity of these substances, a subject reviewed by Calixto et al. (2000). See also Warburgia stuhlmannii Engl. above.

(−)-Warburganal was found to be an elicitor of allergic contact dermatitis in guinea pigs sensitised to polygodial originally isolated from Polygonum hydropiper L., fam. Polygonaceae (Stampf et al. 1982).

References

• Abaul J, Udino L, Bourgeois P, Bessière J-M (1995) Composition of the essential oils of Canella winterana (L.) Gaertn. Journal of Essential Oil Research 7(6): 681-683 [doi] [url] [url-2]
• Adams RP, Zanoni TA (1990) Essential oils of plants from Hispaniola: 3. The leaf oil of Canella winterana (Canellaceae). Journal of Essential Oil Research 2(4): 163-165 [doi] [url] [url-2]
• André E, Campi B, Trevisani M, Ferreira J, Malheiros Â, Yunes RA, Calixto JB, Geppetti P (2006) Pharmacological characterisation of the plant sesquiterpenes polygodial and drimanial as vanilloid receptor agonists. Biochemical Pharmacology 71(8): 1248-1254 [doi] [url] [pmid]
• Bastos JK, Coelho Kaplan MA, Gottlieb OR (1999) Drimane-type sesquiterpenoids as chemosystematic markers of Canellaceae. Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society 10(2): 136-139 [doi] [url] [url-2]
• Brooks CJW, Draffan GH (1969) Sesquiterpenoids of Warburgia species—II: Ugandensolide and ugandensidial (cinnamodial). Tetrahedron 25(14): 2887-2898 [doi] [url]
• Calixto JB, Beirith A, Ferreira J, Santos ARS, Cechinel Filho V, Yunes RA (2000) Naturally occurring antinociceptive substances from plants. Phytotherapy Research 14(6): 401-418 [doi] [url] [url-2] [pmid]
• Canonica L, Corbella A, Jommi G, Křepinský J, Ferrari G, Casagrande C (1967) The structure of cinnamolide, cinnamosmolide and cinnamodial, sesquiterpenes with drimane skeleton from Cinnamosma fragrans Baillon. Tetrahedron Letters 8(23): 2137-2141 [doi] [url]
• CosIng (2023/4) COSING Ingredients-Fragrance Inventory. [online article]: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/pdf/COSING_Ingredients-Fragrance%20Inventory_v2.pdf ; accessed March 2023 [url] [url-2]
• Drewes SE, Crouch NR, Mashimbye MJ, De Leeuw BM, Horn MM (2001) A phytochemical basis for the potential use of Warburgia salutaris (pepper-bark tree) leaves in the place of bark : research article. South African Journal of Science 97(9): 383-386 [doi] [url] [url-2]
• Gracza L (1980) Bestimmung von Phenylpropanderivaten in Arzneistoffen und Arzneizubereitung durch HPLC. 3. Mitteilung über die Analytik von Phenylpropanderivaten. [HPLC determination of phenylpropane derivatives in drugs and drug preparations. Part 3. Analysis of phenylpropane derivatives]. Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung 120(40): 1859-1863
• Khumalo GP, Sadgrove NJ, Van Vuuren S, Van Wyk B-E (2019) Antimicrobial activity of volatile and non-volatile isolated compounds and extracts from the bark and leaves of Warburgia salutaris (Canellaceae) against skin and respiratory pathogens. South African Journal of Botany 122: 547-550 [doi] [url]
• Kioy D, Gray AI, Waterman PG (1989) Further drimane sesquiterpenes from the stem bark of Canella winterana. Journal of Natural Products 52(1): 174-177 [doi] [url] [url-2]
• Kioy D, Gray AI, Waterman PG (1990) A comparative study of the stem-bark drimane sesquiterpenes and leaf volatile oils of Warburgia ugandensis and W. stuhlmannii. Phytochemistry 29(11): 3535-3538 [doi] [url]
• Kubo I, Ganjian I (1981) Insect antifeedant terpenes, hot-tasting to humans. Experientia 37(10): 1063-1064 [doi] [url] [url-2] [pmid]
• Leonard CM, Viljoen AM (2015) Warburgia: A comprehensive review of the botany, traditional uses and phytochemistry. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 165: 260-285 [doi] [url] [pmid]
• Maroyi A (2014) The genus Warburgia: A review of its traditional uses and pharmacology. Pharmaceutical Biology 52(3): 378-391 [doi] [url] [url-2] [pmid]
• Meddows-Taylor S, Ramadwa TE (2025) A comprehensive review of the traditional uses, pharmacological activity and phytochemistry of Warburgia salutaris in southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 179: 134-146 [doi] [url]
• Nakanishi K, Kubo I (1977) Studies on warburganal, muzigadial and related compounds. Israel Journal of Chemistry 16(1): 28-31 [doi] [url] [url-2]
• Rabe T, van Staden J (2000) Isolation of an antibacterial sesquiterpenoid from Warburgia salutaris. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 73(1): 171-174 [doi] [url] [pmid]
• Randrianarivelo R, Sarter S, Odoux E, Brat P, Lebrun M, Romestand B, Menut C, Andrianoelisoa HS, Raherimandimby M, Danthu P (2009) Composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils of Cinnamosma fragrans. Food Chemistry 114(2): 680-684 [doi] [url]
• Schmidt RJ (2017) Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 – a recast of the Cosmetic Products Directive 76/768/EEC – in regard to the safety of plant-derived cosmetic product ingredients. The Expert Witness (20): 35-37 [doi] [url] [url-2]
• Stampf J-L, Benezra C, Asakawa Y (1982) Stereospecificity of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) to enantiomers Part III. Experimentally induced ACD to a natural sesquiterpene dialdehyde, polygodial in guinea pigs. Archives of Dermatological Research 274(3-4): 277-281 [doi] [url] [pmid]
• Standing Committee on Cosmetic Products (2019) Commission Decision (EU) 2019/701 of 5 April 2019 establishing a glossary of common ingredient names for use in the labelling of cosmetic products. Official Journal of the European Union 62(L 121): 1-370 [url] [url-2]
• Szallasi A, Jonassohn M, Ács G, Bíró T, Ács P, Blumberg PM, Sterner O (1996) The stimulation of capsaicin-sensitive neurones in a vanilloid receptor-mediated fashion by pungent terpenoids possessing an unsaturated 1,4-dialdehyde moiety. British Journal of Pharmacology 119(2): 283-290 [doi] [url] [url-2] [pmid]
• von Reis Altschul S (1973) Drugs and Foods from Little-Known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press [WorldCat] [doi] [url] [url-2]
• Watt JM, Breyer-Brandwijk MG (1962) The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa. Being an account of their medicinal and other uses, chemical composition, pharmacological effects and toxicology in man and animal, 2nd edn. Edinburgh: E & S Livingstone [doi] [WorldCat] [url] [url-2]

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