Long coriander

Botanical Name         : Eryngium foetidum L.

Plant family               : Apiaceae (parsley family)

English Name     : Thorny coriander, culantro, Puerto Rican coriander, Black Benny, Saw leaf herb, Mexican coriander, Spiny coriander, Fitweed, Saw Leaf Herb and also Saw Tooth Coriander (due to the serrated leafs, which loosely remind to a saw blade.

Hindi Name         : Ban-dhaniya
Bengali Name     : Bon-dhonia, Bilati dhonia

Long coriander belongs to the same plant family as coriander, but the plant’s shape does not bear much resemblance. Yet the long, tough leaves gives off a fragrance very much similar to coriander’s aroma and thus suggest themselves as a substitute or alternative for the former.

Parts of plant used    : Fresh leaves & Young Stems are usually used. The plant forms two types of leaves: The rosette con­sists of up to 10 long leaves with palat­able texture, while leaves on the stalks are smaller and tougher. The bracts en­shrouding the flower heads are almost woody and some­what spiny; they can hardly be eaten, un­less puréed.

Main constituents

The essential oil from the leaves of long coriander is rich in ali­phatic aldehydes, most of which are α,β unsaturated. The impact com­pound is E-2-dodecenal (60%), further­more 2,3,6-trimethyl­benz­aldehyde (10%), dodecanal (7%) and E-2-tridecenal (5%) have been identi­fied. Ali­phatic aldehydes appear also in other spices with coriander-like scent. 

Yet another essential oil can be obtained from the root; in the root oil, unsaturated alicyclic or aromatic aldehydes dominate (2,3,6-trimethyl­benz­aldehyde 40%, 2-formyl 1,1,5-trimethyl cyclo­hexa-2,5-dien-4-ol 10%, 2-formyl 1,1,5-trimethyl cyclo­hexa-2,4-dien-6-ol 20%, 2,3,4-trimethyl­benz­alde­hyde).

In the essen­tial oil from the seeds, sesqui­terpenoids (carotol 20%, β-farnesene 10%), phenyl­propanoids (anethole) and mono­terpenes (α-pinene) were found, but no aldehydes.

Culantro is reported to be rich in calcium, iron, carotene, and riboflavin. Fresh leaves are 86–88% moisture, 3.3% protein, 0.6% fat, 6.5% carbohydrate, 1.7% ash, 0.06% phosphorus, and 0.02% iron. Leaves are an excellent source of vitamin A (10,460 I.U./100 g), B₂ (60 mg %), B₁ (0.8 mg %), and C (150–200 mg %) (Bautista et al. 1988). On a dry weight basis, leaves consist of 0.1–0.95% volatile oil, 27.7% crude fiber, 1.23% calcium, and 25 ppm boron.

MEDICINAL USES

The plant is used in traditional medicines for fevers and chills, vomiting, diarrhea, colds and convulsions in children, Burns, hypertension, headache, earache, stomachache, asthma, arthritis, snake bites, scorpion stings, diarrhea, malaria and epilepsy. The leaves and roots are boiled and the water drunk for pneumonia, flu, diabetes, constipation, and malaria fever. The root can be eaten raw for scorpion stings and in India the root is reportedly used to alleviate stomach pains.

One of its most popular use is in chutneys as an appetite stimulant. The name fitweed is derived from its supposedly anti-convulsant property.

Pharmacological investigations have demonstrated anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-convulsant, anti-clastogenic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic and anti-bacterial activity.