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 Coriandrum sativum (Umbelliferae)
CORIANDER
Coriander fruit are used by
herbalists worldwide to relieve or prevent wind and colic. Ayurvedic
medicine prescribes them for conditions ranging from burns to allergies, and
Chinese medicine uses them for stomach ache, measles, and nausea.
An ancient herb that has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years,
it is indigenous to Italy but now grows throughout the world and has become an established ingredient in traditional cookery in Peru, India, and the Middle East.
It is named after the Greek for bug because of the insect-like smell of its leaves.
An annual, it has leaves comprising many leaflets and small white flowers in summer, followed by spherical, brittle fruit.
PARIS USED
Fruit.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS
Volatile oil containing coriandrol (55-74 per cent), borneol, linalol, camphor, geraniol, limonene, and terpinene;
flavonoids, including quercetin, kaempferol, and apigenin; coumarins; phenolic acids, including caffeic and chlorogenic.
ACTIONS
Aromatic; relieves wind and colic; reduces muscle tension and spasm.
MEDICINAL USE
Used largely as a carminative to relieve flatulence. Given in Ayurvedic medicine for urinary tract infections,
skin conditions, burns, sore throats, indigestion and allergies, and by Chinese physicians for measles, stomach ache and nausea.
PREPARATIONS
Powdered fruit, tincture, infusion.
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