Synonyms
No documenatation
Vernacular Names:
| Malaysia: |
Daun Ketumbar (leaves), Ketumbar (seed) |
| English: | Coriander, Cilantro, Arab Parsley, Chinese Parsley, Mexican Parsley, Dizzycorn, Japanese Parsley |
| Indonesia: | Ketumbar |
| Burmese: | Nannambin (leaves), Nannamzee (seed) |
| Laos: | Phak Hom Pom |
| Thailand: |
Pak Chee (met) |
| Sinhalese: | Kottamalli (seed), Kottamalli Kolle (leaves) |
| China: | Hsiang Tsai, Yen-sui, Yuen Sai, Yuin Si Tsoi (leaves) |
| India: |
Dhanyia, Dhuniah, Kothimbir, Kotimear, Kotimli (seed), Dhania Patta, Dhania Sabz, Hara Dhania (leaf), Kothamilee (Tamil) |
| French: | Coriandre |
| German: | Koriander |
| Italian: | Coriandolo |
| Spanish: | Cilantro, Culantro |
| Arabic: | Kizbara |
General Information
Description
Coriander is an annual aromatic herb in the family of Umbelliferae (also called Apiaceae). The coriander plant is widely distributed in subtropic regions and is mainly cultivated for its seeds.[1][2][3] It has a unique aroma and flavour and is an important culinary herb widely used in Mexican, Asian and Caribbean cuisine.[4] In addition to its traditional use as a spice and medicinal plant, the plant has an economic importance as it is used as a flavouring agent in food products, perfumes, cosmetics and soaps.[1][2][5][6]
Plant Part Used
Leaves, stems, seeds and roots
Chemical Constituents
The most important constituents of coriander seeds are the essential oil and the fatty oil.[3] Dried coriander seeds contain an essential oil (0.03-2.6%) with linalool as the main component.[3][10] Other components of the essential oil are: α-thujene, sabinene, β-pinene, myrcene, p-vymene, limonane, Z-β-ocimene, γ-terpenine, terpinolene, camphor, citronellal, trpinene-4-ol, decanal, cumin aldehyde, terpenene-7-al (α), terpinene-7-al (γ) and geranyl acetate.[3][10]
About 13-18% dry weight of the seed is fatty oil, of which up to 75% can be petroselenic acid (C18:1) which has an industrial usage as to form lauric acid in soaps and detergents and also C6 dicarboxylic acid for use as a feedstock in the manufacture of nylon.[11][12]
Other constituents of the dried seeds are crude protein (11.5-21.3%), fat (17.8-19.15%), crude fiber (28.4-29.1%) and ash (4.9-6.0%).[3]
The chemical composition and the percentage of the components in the essential oil of the coriander fruits depend on the different stages of maturity.[5]
Glycolipids (GL) were detected from Coriandrum sativum seeds and among them are acylated steryl glucoside (ASG), steryl glucoside (SG), and glucocerebroside. The fatty acid profiles of the GL fractions using HPLC showed that diunsaturated fatty acid C18:2-n (>50% of fatty acids were transesterified into methyl esters) was the most abundant among the GL residues, followed by oleic acid, C18:1n-9, as the second unsaturated fatty acid. Palmitic acid, C16:0 was the major saturated fatty acid in all individual GL subclasses followed by stearic acid, C18:0.[13] Campesterol was the major sterol component found in the ASG and SG fraction, followed by stigmasterol. β-Sitosterol and Δ5-avenasterol were detected at lower levels. Glucose was the only sugar detected in all the analysed GL samples.[13]
Eighty one compounds were identified from the coriander leaf essential oil with two-dimensional gas chromatography combined to time-of-flight mass spectrometry representing 99.4 % of the total ion count.[14]
Methanolic extract of whole C. sativum plant yielded coriandrones A – E, coriandrin, p-hydroxyphenethyl ferulate, (R)-(-)-4, β-dihydroxyphenethyl ferulate, umbelliferone, isoscopoletin, escletin dimethyl ether, daphnetin-8-O-glucoside, syringaldehyde, ferulic acid, veratric acid, p-hydroxycinnamic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-ethanol, 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-methoxyethanol, 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,2-ethanediol, kaempferol 3-O-α-L-[2,3-di-(E)-p-coumaroylrhamnopyranoside] and kaempferol 3-O-α-L-[3,-(E)-p-coumaroylrhamnopyranoside].[2][15]
Selenium contents (23.53 ppm) were reported to be higher in coriander than in other herbs and herbal teas.[16] The presence of other minerals, such as Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn were reported using X-ray fluorescence analysis.[17]
There was no presence of photoactive furocoumarins in coriander but there were two unknown slightly photoactive compounds.[18]
Anti-nutritive compounds such as glucosinolates (27.5μmol/g), sinapine (4mg/g), condensed tannins (1.1mg/g) and inositol phosphates (17.4mg/g) were found in C. sativa seeds.[19]
Traditional Use:
Coriander seed is a popular spice and is finely grounded to be a major ingredient of curry powder.[1] The fruits are used in the preparation of fish, meat and also for baking.[10]
The seed has also been used to treat indigestion, worm infections, rheumatism, loss of appetite, convulsion, insomnia, anxiety and pain in the joints.[1][5][10] Coriander is used traditionally in Morocco as a diuretic plant.[20] In Iranian folk medicine, it has been recommended for relief of anxiety and insomnia.[21]
Pre-Clinical Data
Pharmacology
Antioxidant activity
The ethanol extract of C. sativum leaves is an excellent antioxidant which is stable at high temperature and can serve as a substitute for synthetic antioxidants.[22]
The aqueous extract of coriander seed inhibited peroxidised lipid-induced lysis (induced by FeSO4-ascorbate, 10:100μmol/system) by 72% in human erythrocyte membranes.[23]
Extracts of coriander seeds obtained with supercritical carbon dioxide in semicontinuous lab-scale equipment with low density (0.60g/mL) CO2 and high density (0.73-0.83g/mL) CO2 (pressures from 116 to 280 bar and temperatures from 311 to 331 K for the latter) exhibited significant activity in removing free radicals present in a methanol solution of DPPH in a manner which was comparable to those of commercial antioxidants.[24]
The antioxidant capacity of phenolic compounds in coriander leaves was higher than that of the seeds in three different bioassays, namely scavenging of free radical by DPPH, inhibition of 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO) and inhibition of Fe2+ induced phospholipid peroxidation in brain. The seed lipid content which was extracted with dichloromethane gave low activities in radical scavenging and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The ethyl acetate extract of the leaves exhibited the most potent activity (IC50 value 147 ± 3μg/mL).[1]
Further studies by Melo et al. indicated that the four coriander extract fractions obtained from the crude extract using chromatography in silica gel possessed similar antioxidant activities that can be measured by the β-carotene/linoleic acid system. The antioxidant activity was due to several phenolic acids and caffeic acid which were contained in all four fractions.[25]
Evaluation of antioxidant potencies of polyphenolic compounds in C. sativum against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in human lymphocytes showed that the polyphenolic fractions (50μg/mL) increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the glutathione content and reduced the levels of thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances significantly. Peroxidative damage was decreased as there was a reduction of in the level of lipid peroxides.[26] The principal component in coriander anti-oxidant action was β-carotene as it represented 61.14% of the carotenoids detected in the ether extracts.[27] The greater antioxidant effect of the crude extract compared to its component fractions suggested a synergistic action between the carotenoids.
Assessment of the total antioxidant activity of methanol and water extracts of coriander leaves and stems using an iron-induced linoleic acid oxidation model system showed that the methanol-derived leaf extracts exhibited significantly greater radical-scavenging activity towards both lipid- and water-soluble radicals, which was attributed to the total phenolic content.[28]
Antimicrobial activity
In 2002, a study by Delaquis et al., reported that cilantro oil strongly inhibited gram-positive bacteria (Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus) and S.cerevisiae, but had little effect against gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas fragi, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium).[29]
Methanol and water extracts of coriander leaves and stems were tested for antimicrobial activity towards Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli by determining cell damage. The greater bacterial cell damage caused by the methanol stem extracts resulted in a greater growth inhibition of the bacteria, which corresponded to the ferrous sequestering activity of the methanol-derived stem extracts.[28]
Antimutagenicity activity
Coriander played a protective role against the deleterious effects in lipid metabolism in experimental colon cancer induced by 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine in rats.[30]
The antimutagenicity of coriander juice against the mutagenic activity of 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine, m-phenylenediamine and 2-aminofluorene was investigated using the Ames reversion mutagenesis assay (his– to his+) with the S. Typhimurium TA98 strain as the indicator organism. It was found that aqueous crude coriander juice significantly decreased the mutagenicity of metabolised amines.[31]
The capacity of coriander essential oil to induce nuclear DNA damage-responsive genes was tested using suitable Lac-Z fusion strains for RNR3 and RAD51, which are genes involved in DNA metabolism and repair, respectively. At equitoxic dose, the essential oil demonstrated significant gene induction, aprroximately the same as that caused by hydrogen peroxide, but much lower than that caused by methyl methanesulfonate (MMS). It affected the mitochondrial structure and function and can stimulate the transcriptional expression of DNA damage-responsive genes. It appeared that the induction of microbial damage was closely linked to overall cellular cytotoxicity by the essential oil which also appeared to mask the occurence of nuclear genetic events.[32]
Anthelmintic activity
Crude aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts of the seeds of C. sativum completely inhibited hatching of nematode eggs at concentrations lower than 0.5mg/mL with no statistically significant difference between both extracts. However, the hydro-alcoholic extract showed better in vitro activity against adult parasites than the aqueous one.[33]
Efficacy of anthelmintic activity in vivo was tested by faecal egg count reduction (FECR) and total worm count reduction (TWCR) in sheeps artificially infected with Haemonchus contortus. Significant FECR was detected on day 2 after treatment with 0.9g/kg of crude aqueous extract of C. sativum. On days 7 and 14, FECR was also detected at 0.45g/kg dose of crude aqueous extract. A significant TWCR was only detected with 0.9g/kg dose of crude aqueous extract.[33]
Antidiabetic activity
C. sativum showed significant hypoglycemic action in rats fed with high cholesterol diet. The activity of glycogen synthase was increased which showed an increase in the concentration of hepatic glycogen, while the activity of glycogen phosphorylase and gluconeogenic enzymes revealed a decrease in the rate of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. There was also increased activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glycolytic enzymes used glucose by the pentose phosphate pathway and glycolysis respectively.[34]
In an in vitro study to assess the possible effects of aqueous coriander plant extract (50g plant extract/L) on glucose diffusion across the gastrointestinal tract, it was found that the extract significantly decreased glucose diffusion compared to control with mean external glucose concentration of 6.4±0.2mmol/L at 26 h. Part of the antihyperglycemic actions of C. sativum may be due to decreased glucose absorption in vivo.[35]
Pretreatment with C. sativum protected Wistar albino rats against gastric mucosal damage induced by ethanol. The protective effect might be related to the free-radical scavenging property of the different antioxidant constituents present in C. sativum.[36]
Immunomodulatory activity
The aqueous crude extracts of C. sativum stimulated the proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and the secretion of IFN-γ at concentrations between 50 and 200μg/mL. Further studies on several bioactive compounds known to be of the extract, showed that the flavonoid quercetin stimulated the proliferation of human PBMC and the secretion of IFN-γ. However, the flavonoid rutin, coumarins bergapten and xanthotoxin modulate the secretion of of IFN-γ but did not enhance the proliferation of human PBMC while the coumarin isopimpinellin, promoted the proliferation of PBMC but did not modulate the secretion of IFN-γ.[37]
Anti-fungal activity
Coriander oil did not have an effect on mycelia growth (A. parasiticus) and did not affect the aflatoxin content of the fungus.[38]
Antidiuretic effect
The aqueous extract of coriander increased diuresis and the urinary excretion of sodium, potassium, chloride and the glomerular filtration rate at doses of 40 and 100mg/kg administered by intravenous infusion (120 min) in anesthetised Wistar rats. The mechanism of diuretic action of coriander appeared to be similar to that of furosemide.[20]
Anxiolytic effect
The aqueous extract of C. sativum seed has anxiolytic effect and may have potential sedative and muscle relaxation effect. The aqueous extract (100mg/kg, i.p.) showed an anxiolytic effect in male albino mice using the elevated plus-maze model by increasing the time spent on open arms and the percentage of open arm coordination. Furthermore, the aqueous extract (50, 100 and 500mg/kg) significantly reduced spontaneous activity and neuromuscular coordination compared to the control group.[21]
Other studies and effects
A polyherbal ayurvedic formulation which contained ripe fruits of coriander as one of its major ingredients was tested on two different experimental animal models of inflammatory bowel disease (acetic acid-induced colitis in mice and indomethacin-induced enterocolitis in rats). The results obtained showed that the formulation was efficacious against inflammatory bowel disease.[39]
C. sativum was suggested to have a preventive effect on localised lead deposition in ICR mice. The administration of C. sativum significantly decreased lead deposition in the femur and reduced the severe lead-induced injury in the kidney of ICR mice which were given lead (1000ppm) as lead acetate trihydrate in drinking water for 32 days.[40]
The effect of the aqueous extract of fresh coriander seeds on female fertility in rats was studied. The extract (250 and 500mg/kg orally) produced a dose-dependant significant anti-implantation effect, but failed to produce complete infertility.[41]
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References
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