A property in cinnamon, cinnamaldehyde, has the power to help reduce obesity by burning energy in our fat cells, according to researchers from the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute.

Scientists already knew that cinnamon had the ability to burn fat from lab tests with mice, but the new research showed that it could be effective in humans as well. This process can help kickstart weight loss, leading the study's authors to conclude that cinnamon could boast several benefits, beyond just tasting good.

In the tests, the scientists, let by Jun Wu, took human fat cells from volunteers from different ages, ethnicities and body mass indexes. When the cells were treated with cinnamaldehyde, the cells went through a process called thermogenesis, which is when the cells start to burn energy.

"Scientists were finding that this compound affected metabolism, so we wanted to figure out how, what pathway might be involved, what it looked like in mice and what it looked like in human cells." Wu said.

Cinnamaldehyde is the compound that gives cinnamon its flavour and odour. It makes up about half of cinnamon oil and is used to flavour chewing gum, ice cream, candy and beverages, as well as perfumes. Cinnamaldehyde is also used as a natural fungicide and an insecticide.

The researchers explained that the storing of fat was useful to our ancestors who had less access to high-fat foods and therefore a greater need to store fat in the body for winter or food scarcities. "It's only been relatively recently that energy surplus has become a problem, " Wu said. "Throughout evolution, the opposite - energy deficiency - has been the problem. So any energy consuming process usually turns off the moment the body doesn't need it."

"Cinnamon has been part of our diets for thousands of years, and people generally enjoy it. Cinnamaldehyde could be a natural trigger for this fat burning process in lieu of traditional drug regimens. So if it can help protect against obesity, too, it may offer an approach to metabolic health that is easier for patients to adhere to. " Wu added.