Antigen-IgE-mediated mucosal mast-cell activation is critical in the development of food allergies. Cinnamaldehyde, a major constituent of Cinnamomi cortex, dose-dependently inhibited the antigen-IgE-induced degranulation of mucosal-type bone-marrow derived mast cells (mBMMCs) and RBL-2H3 cells. Cinnamaldehyde also suppressed the elevation of the intracellular Ca(2+) level that is induced by the extracellular Ca(2+) influx in antigen-IgE-stimulated mBMMCs. Furthermore, tyrosine phosphorylation of phospholipase C (PLC) gamma 1, which is a crucial activation switch for the intracellular Ca(2+) mobilization in mast cells, was attenuated by cinnamaldehyde. Together, our results demonstrated that cinnamaldehyde suppressed the intracellular Ca(2+) mobilization and the degranulation of mucosal mast cells by inhibiting the activity of the IgE receptor-PLC gamma-Ca(2+) influx pathway. These findings suggest that cinnamaldehyde may have therapeutic potential in mucosal mast cell-related allergic diseases, such as food allergies. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.