每個節慶都有屬於它的氣味，而我想，最適合聖誕節的氣味非肉桂莫屬了吧！
如果你眷戀於薑餅人的肉桂香，那麼你一定會愛上歐嬤德式麵包的法蘭司肉桂捲啊～
不得不說我朋友的弟弟手藝實在太好惹！
居然可以做出這麼好吃的肉桂捲>///<
害我現在邊寫著肉桂文還要一邊配上肉桂捲才寫得下去XD
（如果想進一步知道歐嬤德式麵包的訊息的話可以看參考資料第23點喔）
話說肉桂的故事是這樣的：
肉桂（Cinnamon）是樟科常綠喬木。由於肉桂具有特殊的風味和療效，因此肉桂已長期被用於食物調味和各種醫療用途上了。而肉桂對身體影響的相關研究也非常多，以下將一一解釋肉桂的作用：
1. 抗氧化活性 [1-2]
已經有很多的研究都發現肉桂的萃取物有抗氧化的作用囉！另有研究指出水和酒精的1:1萃取物有抑制脂肪酸氧化和脂質過氧化的作用。
2. 抗發炎活性 [3-6]
很多研究也都已經發現肉桂有抗發炎的效果！這幾年也發現從肉桂中萃取出的黃酮類化合物（例如：gossypin, gnaphalin, hesperidin, hibifolin, hypolaetin, oroxindin 和 quercetin）都有抗發炎的活性。
3. 抗糖尿病的活性 [7-9]
研究學者從糖尿病鼠的實驗中發現肉桂中有增強胰島素的因子。此外，另有很多研究發現肉桂的萃取物可以降低膽固醇的濃度和血糖值。
4. 抗菌活性 [10-12]
目前已經有很多研究都指出肉桂油有抗菌的作用了！這裡就不做更深的敘述啦XD
5. 抗癌活性 [13-14]
從肉桂中分離出的前花青素被認為能夠抑制VEGFR2激酶的活性，進而抑制了血管新生作用。除此，另一篇研究發現肉桂醛也有抑制血管新生的作用。而這些結果顯示了肉桂對於癌症有預防的效果。
6. 對神經系統疾病的影響 [15]
我們都知道tau蛋白聚集所形成的神經纖維纏結是阿茲海默患者大腦組織中的特徵之一，而現在有研究發現錫蘭肉桂的萃取物可以減少tau蛋白的聚集。
7. 對心血管疾病的影響 [16]
有很多研究都指出了肉桂醛對心血管系統有保護的效果。其中有一篇研究指出肉桂中的肉桂醛和肉桂酸這兩種物質，在對抗心肌缺血上有潛在的影響。而這些研究結果都進一步指出了肉桂在治療心血管疾病的潛力。
8. 降膽固醇的效果 [17-18]
在動物實驗中發現對小鼠注入肉桂對於牠們的血脂狀況有正向的影響，高密度脂蛋白膽固醇會上升，而三酸甘油酯會下降。另一個研究發現，在對大鼠注射肉桂粉連續35天，發現大鼠們的總膽固醇、三酸甘油酯和低密度脂蛋白膽固醇都下降了！
9. 抑制糖化終產物 AGEs生成 [19-20]
肉桂能夠分離出表兒茶素、兒茶素和前花青素物質procyanidin B2等酚類化合物。而這些物質能夠抑制糖化終產物AGEs的生成。一些研究指出抑制AGEs會是個治療糖尿病和併發症的策略。
Ref.
1. Antioxidant activity of cinnamon (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, Breyne) extracts. Mancini-Filho J, Van-Koiij A, Mancini DA, Cozzolino FF, Torres RP Boll Chim Farm. 1998 Dec; 137(11):443-7.
2. Antioxidant activity of selected Indian spices. Shobana S, Naidu KA. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2000 Feb; 62(2):107-10.
3. Preliminary screening of some traditional zulu medicinal plants for anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activities. Lin J, Opoku AR, Geheeb-Keller M, Hutchings AD, Terblanche SE, Jäger AK, van Staden J. J Ethnopharmacol. 1999 Dec 15; 68(1-3):267-74.
4. Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities of some plants used for medicinal purposes in Kenya. Matu EN, van Staden J. J Ethnopharmacol. 2003 Jul; 87(1):35-41.
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6. Cognitive-enhancing effects of Rhus verniciflua bark extract and its active flavonoids with neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory activities. Cho N, Lee KY, Huh J, Choi JH, Yang H, Jeong EJ, Kim HP, Sung SH. Food Chem Toxicol. 2013 Aug; 58():355-61.
7. The evaluation of long-term effects of cinnamon bark and olive leaf on toxicity induced by streptozotocin administration to rats. Onderoglu S, Sozer S, Erbil KM, Ortac R, Lermioglu F. J Pharm Pharmacol. 1999 Nov; 51(11):1305-12.
8. Effect of cinnamon on glucose and lipid levels in non insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes.
Blevins SM, Leyva MJ, Brown J, Wright J, Scofield RH, Aston CE. Diabetes Care. 2007 Sep; 30(9):2236-7.
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11. In vitro antibacterial activity of some plant essential oils. Prabuseenivasan S, Jayakumar M, Ignacimuthu S. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2006 Nov 30; 6():39.
12. Combination of analytical and microbiological techniques to study the antimicrobial activity of a new active food packaging containing cinnamon or oregano against E. coli and S. aureus. Becerril R, Gómez-Lus R, Goñi P, López P, Nerín C. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2007 Jul; 388(5-6):1003-11.
13. Novel angiogenesis inhibitory activity in cinnamon extract blocks VEGFR2 kinase and downstream signaling. Lu J, Zhang K, Nam S, Anderson RA, Jove R, Wen W. Carcinogenesis. 2010 Mar; 31(3):481-8.
14. Kwon B-M, Lee S-H, Cho Y-K, et al. Synthesis and biological activity of cinnamaldehydes as angiogenesis inhibitors. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 1997;7(19):2473–2476.
15. Cinnamon extract inhibits tau aggregation associated with Alzheimer's disease in vitro.
Peterson DW, George RC, Scaramozzino F, LaPointe NE, Anderson RA, Graves DJ, Lew J. J Alzheimers Dis. 2009; 17(3):585-97.
16. Protective effects of cinnamic acid and cinnamic aldehyde on isoproterenol-induced acute myocardial ischemia in rats. Song F, Li H, Sun J, Wang S. J Ethnopharmacol. 2013 Oct 28; 150(1):125-30.
17. Anti-diabetic effect of cinnamon extract on blood glucose in db/db mice. Kim SH, Hyun SH, Choung SY. J Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Mar 8; 104(1-2):119-23.
18. Rahman S, Begum H, Rahman Z, Ara F, Iqbal MJ, Yousuf AKM. Effect of cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) as a lipid lowering agent on hypercholesterolemic rats. Journal of Enam Medical College. 2013;3(2):94–98.
19. Cinnamon bark proanthocyanidins as reactive carbonyl scavengers to prevent the formation of advanced glycation endproducts. Peng X, Cheng KW, Ma J, Chen B, Ho CT, Lo C, Chen F, Wang M. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Mar 26; 56(6):1907-11.
20. Beneficial effects of cinnamon proanthocyanidins on the formation of specific advanced glycation endproducts and methylglyoxal-induced impairment on glucose consumption. Peng X, Ma J, Chao J, Sun Z, Chang RC, Tse I, Li ET, Chen F, Wang M
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21. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4003790/#!po=25.0000
22. http://nutrition.healthgrove.com/l/16797/Cinnamon
23. 歐嬤德式烘焙: http://www.oma-de.com
24. 圖片來源：https://health.gvm.com.tw
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