Coriandrum sativum: A promising functional and medicinal food

Coriandrum sativum is a promising functional food which not only provides nutrition, but also has medicinal benefits. It is a widely grown herb and most commonly used spice in India. Coriander is cultivated for both leaves and seeds. The traditional use of coriander is two-fold: medicinal and culinary. It contains bio-active components, mainly α-pinene, α-terpinene and limonene along with flavonoids, coumarins, phthalides and phenolic acids. Coriandrum sativum has been reported to have several potential health benefits like antioxidant activity, digestive stimulant, anti-hypertensive, cholesterol-lowering, anticancer effect and many more. This potential can further be explored and exploited to develop new formulations and coriander can be used as a complete and promising functional food.