Cinnamic acid<Chemical formula: C9H8O2>, also known as beta cinnamic acid, 3-phenyl-2-acrylic. It is the organic acid that is separated from cinnamon or benzoin or Cinnamic acid produced by plant cinnamic acid deamination degradation. Cinnamic acid is also part of the biosynthetic shikimate and phenylpropanoid pathways. Cinnamic acid is freely soluble in benzene, diethyl ether, acetone, and it is insoluble in hexane. It is used to manufacture perfumery compounds and is mainly used in flavors and food additives, pharmaceutical industry, cosmetic, agricultural chemicals, organic synthesis, etc.

Chemically, in cinnamic acids the 3-phenyl acrylic acid functionality offers three main reactive sites; substitution at the phenyl ring, addition at the α,β- unsaturation and the reactions of the carboxylic acid functionality. Owing to these chemical aspects cinnamic acid derivatives received much attention in medicinal research as traditional as well as recent synthetic antitumor agents. We observed that in spite of their rich medicinal tradition, cinnamic acid derivatives and their anticancer potentials remained underutilized for several decades since the first published clinical use in 1905. In last two decades, there has been huge attention towards various cinnamoyl derivatives and their antitumor efficacy.