Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) family. Slender annual with feathery upper leaves, broad lower leaves, and flat umbels of white to pinkish flowers; native range: Eastern Mediterranean and Near East; cultivated worldwide since antiquity. Globally recognized as dhanyaka · dhanya in Sanskrit, dhania in Hindi, hu sui (胡荽) / yan sui in Chinese, kuzbara · kishneez in Arabic, and cilantro in English. The part used is ripe fruit ('seed') and fresh leaf. The ripe fruits are small pale-brown globes, sweetly aromatic and mildly citrus-warm; the fresh leaf is soft and green with a sharp, pungent, love-it-or-hate-it scent.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
CORIANDER
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- coriander
- Scientific name
- Coriandrum sativum L.
- Family
- Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)
Form
- Part used
- ripe fruit ('seed') and fresh leaf
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent
- Ayurveda
- dominant: astringent (kashaya) · bitter (tikta) · then: sweet (madhura) · pungent (katu)
- Western
- aromatic, pleasantly pungent
- Unani
- aromatic, faintly sour-sweet
Temperature
- TCM
- warm (the fresh herb)
- Ayurveda
- cooling (sheeta virya — the seed)
- Western
- warm (gentle)
- Unani
- cold (the seed) & dry
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Stomach
- Western
- stomach · intestines · bladder
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- releases the exterior, promotes the eruption of measles and rashes, moves qi and aids digestion (the fresh herb)
- Ayurveda
- dipana-pachana, trishnahara (quenches thirst), mutrala (diuretic), dahaprashamana (relieves burning), the seed a gentle tridoshic cooler
- Western
- carminative, aromatic stomachic, mild sedative; corrects the griping of purgatives
- Unani
- kaasir-e-riyah (carminative), muqawwi-e-meda, mubarrid (refrigerant), habis (checks discharges)
Cautions
Contraindications: generally very safe; the fresh leaf can provoke allergy in a few
Toxicity: none notable at food and medicinal doses
Interactions
- Western
- antidiabetic agents: may add to glucose lowering
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