Coriander
Coriandrum
- Known today as
- Coriandrum sativum, seed and leaf.
- Kind
- Plant, in 1 older authority
- Constituents
- linalool, geranyl acetate, decanal and (E)-2-decenal
- Earliest authority here
- Exodus
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
Revised October 1, 2026: Lore added from texts read in full. Version 1, first published September 25, 2026.
Coriander: what was it used for?
The seed, candied or powdered, for wind and the stomach, and to temper strong purges.
Coriander: what does modern science say?
A mild carminative.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- linalool ChEMBL60–80 per cent of the fruit oil
- geranyl acetate ChEMBL
- decanal and (E)-2-decenalthe “soapy” aldehydes of the leaf
- Mechanism
- Linalool relaxes gut muscle and is mildly sedative in animals; the fruit is a carminative, which is why it tempered the purges; the soap taste of the leaf tracks a variant of the olfactory receptor OR6A2.
- Toxic dose
- Safe as food; contact allergy is reported in cooks.
- Standing
- No EMA monograph of its own: the fruit is assessed by the EMA only as a component of the digestive tea mixtures (Species digestivae), and the German Commission E lists it for dyspepsia.
- EMA/HMPC (2024). Assessment report on Species digestivae.
- Blumenthal, M., ed. (1998). The Complete German Commission E Monographs, “Coriander seed.” Standard reference work
- Eriksson, N., et al. (2012). “A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference.” Flavour 1. Verified against its record · doi:10.1186/2044-7248-1-22
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Coriander: what lore surrounds it?
Folkard notes that in Numbers manna “is likened to Coriander-seed,” that the bitter coriander is one of the Mishna's five “bitter herbs” of the Passover, and that “its seeds, when covered with sugar, form the well-known Coriander comfits.” Robert Turner says the powdered seed in wine stimulates the passions, and Gerarde “affirms that the juice of the green leaves, ‘taken in the quantity of four dragmes, killeth and poisoneth the body.’”
Coriander: what did the older authorities say?
- Exodus
- The manna in the wilderness “was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.”
Sources
- Exodus 16:31. Book, seen in reviews
- Numbers 11:7. Book, seen in reviews
- Folkard, R. (1884). Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics, “Coriander.” Project Gutenberg #44638. Primary text
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full
- Sources
- 6 cited: 1 verified against its record, 1 primary text, 1 standard reference work, 2 book, seen in reviews, 1 not yet checked.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026
- Chicago
“Coriander.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/coriander.
- MLA
“Coriander.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/coriander. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Coriander. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/coriander
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See Also
Sharing linalool
Drawing on the same sources: Folkard, Blumenthal
Cumin · Cinquefoil · Cyclamen, greater · Dill · Cardamom · Galangal · the bibliography →
Nearby in the alphabet
Corn smut · Cordial flowers and fruits · Cornicello · Coral, red (Corallium rubrum, of the western Mediterranean, prepared as powder) · Cowslip (Primula veris) · Copal · Crabs’ eyes (Chalky stones from the stomachs of crayfish) · Contact relics
Historical description, not medical advice.