Cinnamaldehyde

Cinnamaldehyde is an aromatic aldehyde that gives cinnamon bark oil much of its characteristic smell and flavor. Its structure consists of a benzene ring attached to an unsaturated aldehyde group.

Aldehyde: An organic compound containing a carbonyl group bonded to at least one hydrogen atom. Cinnamaldehyde’s reactive terminal carbonyl group places it in this compound family.
Benzene: A six-carbon aromatic ring with delocalized electrons and molecular formula C6H6. Cinnamaldehyde’s phenyl portion is built around a benzene ring.
Cinnamon: A spice made from the inner bark of trees in the genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamon’s characteristic aroma and flavor come largely from cinnamaldehyde in its bark oil.
Cinnamomum verum: An evergreen tree species whose inner bark is harvested as Ceylon cinnamon. Its bark oil naturally contains cinnamaldehyde.
Conjugated system: A sequence of connected p orbitals that allows electrons to be delocalized across several atoms. Conjugation links cinnamaldehyde’s benzene ring and carbon–carbon double bond to its electronic properties.
Phenyl group: A molecular group formed by removing one hydrogen atom from benzene. The phenyl group connects the aromatic ring to cinnamaldehyde’s unsaturated side chain.
Essential oil: A concentrated mixture of volatile compounds produced by plants and often carrying their characteristic odors. Cinnamaldehyde is a major constituent of cinnamon bark essential oil.
Cinnamomum cassia: A group of cinnamon trees whose bark is widely sold as cassia cinnamon. Cassia bark oil is another natural source of cinnamaldehyde.
E/Z isomerism: A system for distinguishing geometric isomers according to substituent positions around a double bond. The double bond in natural trans-cinnamaldehyde has the E configuration.
Aromaticity: The unusual stability of certain cyclic, conjugated molecules with delocalized electrons. Aromaticity accounts for the distinctive stability of cinnamaldehyde’s benzene ring.

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