Herb library · Spice · Coriandrum sativum
Coriander
One plant, two kitchen staples: the fresh leaves (cilantro) and the round, citrusy seeds. Coriander is safe as a food; research in people is thin, and allergy, including rare severe reactions, is the main caution.
Traditional use
Coriander is one of the oldest cultivated spices. In India the seeds (dhanya) are a condiment and a medicine for indigestion, and the young leaves go into chutneys. The Sushruta Samhita, in Bhishagratna's 1907 translation, records the dried seed as sweet in digestion and slightly bitter and pungent, and as easing thirst and a burning feeling of the skin.Western physicians once held it to be cooling, while Culpeper called the seed hot and dry. Persian medicine used the fruit for headache, and it is sold today in teas for digestion and for nursing mothers.
Traditional energetics
Galenic (hot or cold, dry or moist)
Hot and dry. Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 249 (opens in a new tab)
Ayurveda
Taste (rasa): bitter and pungent; after digestion (vipaka): sweet. An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita, vol. 1 (1907), Sutrasthanam, ch. XLVI, pp. 511–512 (opens in a new tab)
What studies show
- Limited
Migraine: in one small Iranian trial (68 people), coriander fruit syrup taken with a standard preventive medicine reduced the length, severity and number of attacks over a month compared with placebo syrup. A 2020 review calls the coriander findings positive but preliminary, with a high risk of bias across many herbal migraine studies.
- Insufficient
Breast milk supply: LactMed says coriander is promoted for this but no scientifically valid clinical trials support the use.
- Insufficient
Digestion and other traditional uses: no sources used here report good-quality trials of coriander alone.
Be careful of
Cautions
- AllergyAllergic reactions, skin rashes from contact, and sun sensitivity have been reported. Rare cases of anaphylaxis followed eating coriander or cilantro, including a spice-factory worker and a woman reacting to coriander added to beer, where it was a hidden ingredient.
- NoteGround spices can carry lead. A 2025 US case report linked lead poisoning in two relatives to imported coriander powder with very high lead levels. Buy from sources you trust.
- AmountCoriander is generally recognized as safe as a food in the US. LactMed describes a nursing mother who drank a strong coriander extract daily for a week to increase her milk and was hospitalized with severe diarrhea and later hormonal problems; food amounts are not the same as concentrated extracts.
- PregnancyNo pregnancy safety information for coriander supplements was found in the sources used here. Raised liver enzymes were reported in a woman taking a nursing tea that contains coriander.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“Raw or undried Kustumvari (coriander seeds) is sweet, aromatic and pleasant, while in its dried state it is sweet in digestion, acts as a demulcent, allays thirst, and alleviates the burning sensation of the skin.”
“Coriander seed, hot and dry, expels wind, but is hurtful to the head; sends up unwholesome vapours to the brain, dangerous for mad people.”
“The Coriander plant is called Kothmir, a name derived from the Sanskrit Kusthumbari; when young it is much used in preparing chutneys and sauces.”
In scripture
Where the Bible names this plant, and which plant scholars think is meant.
The house of Israel called its name “Manna”, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey.
Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), the herb on this page; Tristram (1898) found it wild in the Jordan valley. Scripture names it only to describe the manna. H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), pp. 439–440 (opens in a new tab)
The manna was like coriander seed, and it looked like bdellium.
Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), the herb on this page, named only to describe the manna. The identification is not disputed (Tristram, 1898). H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), pp. 439–440 (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- Coriander — Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), NCBI Bookshelf (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Effects of Coriandrum sativum syrup on migraine: a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial (Iran Red Crescent Med J, 2016) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Herbal treatments for migraine: a systematic review of randomised-controlled studies (Phytother Res, 2020) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Coriander anaphylaxis in a spice grinder with undetected occupational allergy (Acta Clin Belg, 2006) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Beer anaphylaxis due to coriander as hidden allergen (BMJ Case Rep, 2018) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Anaphylaxis following cilantro ingestion (Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol, 2012) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Lead intoxication related to coriander consumption: a case report from the United States (J Prev Med Public Health, 2025) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.