Intake of 2g of cinnamon for 12 weeks significantly reduces the HbA1c, SBP and DBP among poorly controlled type 2 diabetes patients. Cinnamon supplementation could be considered as an additional dietary supplement option to regulate blood glucose and blood pressure levels along with conventional medications to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus.

There is strong evidence indicating that elevated plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) levels are a major independent biomarker and/or a contributor to chronic conditions, such as CVD. A deficiency of vitamin B 12 can elevate homocysteine. Vegetarians are a group of the population who are potentially at greater risk of vitamin B 12 deficiency than omnivores. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to appraise a range of studies that compared the homocysteine and vitamin B 12 levels of vegetarians and omnivores. The search methods employed identified 443 entries, from which, by screening using set inclusion and exclusion criteria, six eligible cohort case studies and eleven cross-sectional studies from 1999 to 2010 were revealed, which compared concentrations of plasma tHcy and serum vitamin B 12 of omnivores, lactovegetarians or lacto-ovovegetarians and vegans. Of the identified seventeen studies (3230 participants), only two studies reported that vegan concentrations of plasma tHcy and serum vitamin B 12 did not differ from omnivores. The present study confirmed that an inverse relationship exists between plasma tHcy and serum vitamin B 12 , from which it can be concluded that the usual dietary source of vitamin B 12 is animal products and those who choose to omit or restrict these products are destined to become vitamin B 12 deficient. At present, the available supplement, which is usually used for fortification of food, is the unreliable cyanocobalamin. A well-designed study is needed to investigate a reliable and suitable supplement to normalise the elevated plasma tHcy of a high majority of vegetarians. This would fill the gaps in the present nutritional scientific knowledge.

Whilst definitive conclusions cannot be drawn regarding the use of cinnamon as an antidiabetic therapy, it does possess antihyperglycaemic properties and potential to reduce postprandial blood glucose levels. Further research is required to confirm a possible correlation between baseline FBG and blood glucose reduction and to assess the potential to reduce pathogenic diabetic complications with cinnamon supplementation.