Establishment of a Simultaneous Analytical Method for Surveying Cinnamic acid and Coumarin in Cinnamon Used in Herbal Medicine and Risk Assessment Study

This study developed and validated a method for the simultaneous quantification of cinnamic acid and coumarin in cinnamon samples currently distributed within Seoul. The method is crucial for evaluating the quality of cinnamon by focusing on cinnamic acid, a quality marker, and coumarin, which is known for its hepatotoxicity but is not monitored domestically. The goal was to simultaneous analysis method that could accurately measure the contents of cinnamic acid and coumarin in cinnamon, and through the validation of the test method, to conduct monitoring for cinnamic acid and coumarin using the optimized simultaneous analysis method, and to perform a risk assessment. Upon conducting a validation assessment for the simultaneous analysis method, it was confirmed that the method has been appropriately optimized across all evaluated parameters, including specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, LOD and LOQ. The findings indicated that the levels of cinnamic acid complied with the criteria set by the Korean Pharmacopoeia (0.03% or higher), ranging between 312.9 and 962.2 mg/kg. The coumarin levels varied significantly, ranging from 544.0 to 6647.7 mg/kg, with no correlation found with cinnamic acid (r=0.02, p0.05), indicating their independent variability. Risk assessment showed that the hazard quotient of coumarin ranged from 0.47 to 5.70, indicating minimal health risks.