Coriander

Coriander (pinyin: yán suī), also known as coriander, cilantro, and fragrant coriander. It is the whole herb of the Umbelliferae plant Coriandrum sativum L., an umbrella-shaped flower cap, a one- or two-year-old herb, and a familiar flavoring vegetable. It looks like celery, with small and tender leaves, slender stems, and a rich and fragrant taste. It is a condiment in soups and drinks, and is often used as a condiment for cold dishes, or as a flavoring in hot dishes and noodles. Medicinal value: It can stimulate appetite, relieve depression, relieve pain, and detoxify. The Compendium of Materia Medica states that "coriander is pungent, warm, fragrant, and can penetrate the heart and spleen inside and reach the limbs outside." It is native to the Mediterranean coast and Central Asia, and is now grown in most areas.

Morphological characteristics

It is an umbelliferous plant of the genus Zingiber, an annual or biennial herb. In Shuowen Jiezi, it is recorded: "Coriander is pronounced as yu, which means fragrant. Its stems are soft, its leaves are thin, and its roots are hairy, which makes it soft and gentle. Zhang Qian first brought back the plant when he was sent to the Western Regions, so it was named Hucilan. Cilantro means the appearance of scattered stems and leaves. Shi Le avoided the name Hu, so it was called Xiangcilan in Jin."

Coriander is native to western Asia, Persia and Egypt, and was introduced to China by Arabs during the Tang Dynasty. Meng Xi's "Dietary Materia Medica" and Chen Cangqi's "Supplement to Materia Medica" made detailed records of the properties, growth cycle, and hydrological environment of this plant.

The efficacy and function of coriander

Chinese medicine believes that coriander is warm in nature and sweet in taste. It can strengthen the stomach and digestion, induce sweating and clear rashes, promote diuresis and defecate, and dispel wind and detoxify. Coriander is rich in nutrients. It contains vitamin C, carotene, vitamin B1, B2, etc. It also contains rich minerals such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, etc. Coriander also contains potassium malate, etc. The amount of vitamin C contained in coriander is much higher than that of ordinary vegetables. Generally, people can meet the body's demand for vitamin C by eating 7 to 10 grams of coriander leaves; the carotene contained in coriander is more than 10 times higher than that in tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, etc.

1. Coriander treats measles: 3 corianders with roots, 3 water chestnuts, 3 grams of lithospermum officinale, add half a bowl of water, simmer for 15 minutes, filter the juice, take it in 2 doses, once every 4 hours. Take it when the rash is about to appear to prevent complications; or 500 grams of coriander, boil the water for 1 to 2 times, then pour the water into a basin, first fumigate with hot steam, then wash hands and feet with water, it can treat measles that should not appear or the rash that does not appear thoroughly.

2. Coriander treats colds and flu: 30 grams of coriander, 15 grams of maltose, add half a bowl of rice soup, and drink after the sugar is steamed and dissolved.

3. Coriander treats stomach cold pain: 1000 grams of coriander leaves and 500 ml of wine. Soak the coriander, remove the leaves and drink the wine after 3 days. Take 15 ml when you feel pain.

4. Coriander treats vomiting: Mash an appropriate amount of fresh coriander into one spoonful of juice and add two spoonfuls of sugarcane juice. Take it warm, twice a day.

5. Swollen and painful hemorrhoids and rectal prolapse: Boil coriander into soup and use it to wash the affected area.

6. Chest fullness and stuffiness: Grind coriander seeds into powder, take 3 grams each time, and swallow with boiled water.

7. Coriander treats high blood pressure: Use 10 grams of fresh coriander and add 10 grams of Pueraria root to decoct in water, take it once in the morning and evening, 50 ml each time, 10 days as a course of treatment, it has an auxiliary effect in treating high blood pressure.

8. Coriander treats indigestion and loss of appetite. Take 6 grams of coriander seeds (fruit), 9 grams each of tangerine peel and six-cured orange peel, and 3 slices of ginger. Boil in water and drink.

9. Er: 6 grams of basil leaves (double the amount of fresh leaves), 3 slices of ginger, soak in boiling water or boil once, drink while hot.

10. Coriander treats corneal opacity: Wash 1-2 seeds, put them into the eye socket, close the eyes for a while, the seeds will swell up and stick to the eyes and come out.

Nutritional Value of Coriander

Coriander Traditional Chinese medicine believes that coriander is warm in nature and sweet in taste. It can strengthen the stomach and digest food, induce sweating and clear rashes, promote diuresis and relieve constipation, and dispel wind and detoxify. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "Coriander is pungent, warm and fragrant, and it can reach the heart and spleen inside and the limbs outside." "Luo's Medical Mirror" says that "it can ward off all unhealthy air, dispel wind and cold, fever and headache, eliminate stagnant food, promote bowel movements, remove eye cataracts, and promote acne." Modern research has found that the reason why coriander is fragrant and has earned its good name is mainly because it contains volatile oils and volatile aromatic substances. Coriander is rich in nutrients. It contains vitamin C, carotene, vitamin B1, B2, etc. It also contains rich minerals such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, etc. Its volatile oil contains mannitol, n-decantaldehyde, nonanal and linalool, which can stimulate the appetite and invigorate the spleen. Coriander also contains potassium malate, etc. The amount of vitamin C contained in coriander is much higher than that of ordinary vegetables. Generally, people can meet the body's need for vitamin C by eating 7 to 10 grams of coriander leaves. The carotene contained in coriander is more than 10 times higher than that in tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, etc.

The whole plant contains a variety of vitamins, as well as decanal, nonanal and linalool. The aboveground part contains four isocoumarins: coriandrin, dihydrocoriandrin, coriandrone A and B. The leaves contain bergapten, imperatorin, umbelliferone, xantho-texol, and scopoletin. In addition, it also contains quercetin-3-glu-curonide, isoquercitrin, rutin, vitamin C and inorganic elements such as aluminum, barium, copper, iron, lithium, manganese, silicon and titanium.

Medicinal Value of Coriander

1. Compendium of Materia Medica: "Coriander is pungent, warm and fragrant, and can penetrate the heart and spleen internally and reach the limbs externally."

2. Luo's Huiyue Yijing: "It can dispel all unhealthy qi, dissipate wind and cold, fever and headache, digest stagnant food, promote bowel movements, remove eye cataracts, and promote the development of smallpox."

3. "Shuowen Jiezi" says: "芫" means "fish poison" and "荽" means "fragrant mouth".

4. "Qianjin·Food Therapy": Do not eat it for a long time, it will make people forgetful. Hua Lun said that people with bad breath, bad breath, and NI teeth will get worse if they eat it. People with evil spirits in the abdomen should not eat it, as it will cause old diseases to recur, especially those with wounds.

5. "Compendium of Materia Medica" states: People with qi deficiency should not eat it. People with rash and pox that are not caused by wind and cold invasion or foul air should not eat it.

6. "Medical Collection": Coriander nourishes the liver, drains the lungs, ascends and disperses, and is everywhere. It has the effect of dispersing exterior qi like onion, but it specializes in regulating qi.

Cui Yuxi's "Food Classic": Regulate diet and relieve gas.

7. "Compendium of Materia Medica for Food Therapy": It benefits the five internal organs, replenishes the tendons and veins, helps digest food, treats intestinal wind, and can be eaten wrapped in hot cakes.

8. "Jiayou Materia Medica": It can help digestion, treat the five internal organs, replenish deficiencies, benefit the large and small intestines, clear the lower abdomen, remove heat from the limbs, stop headaches, treat measles and pea sores, spray them with wine and they will come out immediately, and it can open up the heart.

9. "Daily Materia Medica": It helps digestion and transforms qi, clears qi in the large and small intestines, treats headaches and tooth diseases, and detoxifies fish and meat.

10. "Yi Lin Zong Yao": It can promote the dispersing of Yin Qi, dispel evil Qi, induce sweating, and relieve rashes. Chen Nianzu: It can resolve phlegm.

Side Effects of Cilantro

1. It is not advisable to eat coriander when taking drugs such as spironolactone, triamterene, and amiloride;

2. Coriander should not be eaten when taking vitamin K;

3. Coriander cannot be eaten with cucumber;

4. Coriander should not be eaten with animal liver;

5. Coriander should not be eaten with pork;

6. When taking tonics and Chinese medicines such as Atractylodes macrocephala and Cortex Moutan, it is not advisable to take coriander to avoid reducing the efficacy of the tonics.

Taboos on using coriander

1. People who suffer from bad breath, body odor, severe tooth decay, gastric ulcers, and sores should eat less coriander. In addition, coriander is warm in nature, so people who have measles or have not yet broken out but have stagnant heat and toxicity should not eat it.

2. Eating coriander too much or for a long time will consume qi and damage the spirit, thus causing or aggravating qi deficiency. It is not suitable for patients with qi deficiency who usually sweat, feel weak, tired and are prone to colds.

3. Do not take this medicine if you are not suffering from wind-cold.

4. People with bad breath and athlete's foot should not eat it.

5. Patients after childbirth or those just recovering from illness often have a certain degree of qi deficiency. At this time, they should also keep a distance from coriander for a while.

6. People who are prone to catching colds should avoid eating coriander, because such people often have varying degrees of Qi deficiency, and coriander is spicy and dispersing. Eating it too much or for a long time will consume Qi and damage the spirit, which will then cause or aggravate Qi deficiency and lead to more frequent colds.