Cinnamon as a phyto-therapeutic agent in ventricular heart Arrhythmia: Clinical and molecular perspectives

Spice cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.) is eaten worldwide and well documented scientifically because of its wide variety of bioactive compounds, such as eugenol, cinnamontannin B1, cinnamonaldehyde, cinnamozeynel, and others. These phytoconstituents show many pharmacological actions such as lipid-lowering, neuroprotectant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antioxidant, and anticancer. However, despite many benefits, the role of cinnamon in ventricular heart arrhythmia remains unstudied. This review addresses this major gap by incorporating clinical evidence (2020-2025) on the molecular mechanisms connecting bioactive compounds of cinnamon to calcium-mediated cardiac regulation and RyR2. The present review specializes in ventricular heart arrhythmia and calcium-dependent arrhythmogenic mechanisms, rather than previous reviews that largely cover general benefits in cardiac protection and metabolism of cinnamon. Using the disease-based synthesis from contemporary clinical and molecular information spanning the years 2020–2025, we report a new connection between cinnamon phytochemicals and RyR2 impairment and a link in RyR2-mediated intracellular Ca2+ mismanagement to ventricular electrical instability. It is this narrow focus that makes a difference in this review when compared to other research on cinnamon and heart health. In this review, we further discuss how cinnamaldehyde and its related compounds regulate ion-channel stability, inflammation, and oxidative stress by modifying several key cellular pathways such as NF-kB, Nrf2, MAPKs, and PI3K/Akt. We also try to point out the key hurdles that limit clinical use of cinnamon, such as long-term safety, differences among species (C. verum vs. C. cassia), and variation in active compounds. By analyzing these findings, we have tried to provide a clear understanding of how cinnamon acts as a natural approach to heart rhythm regulation. In this review, we have also pointed out the next steps, such as large-scale human trials that may turn this traditional herbal spice into a scientifically validated natural medicine for cardiac care.