Coriander and cilantro are one plant, Coriandrum sativum. In the US the fresh leaves are cilantro and the dried seeds are coriander, while in many other countries the leaves are called coriander too. This page is about the fresh leaves, which is what our nutrition data covers, and it says so whenever a study used the seeds.
Cilantro splits people, and genes are part of the reason. In a study of 14,604 people of European ancestry, a common DNA variant near a cluster of smell-receptor genes was linked to tasting cilantro as soap. One of those genes, OR6A2, responds to aldehydes, the compounds behind much of the leaves’ smell, so it is the leading suspect. Genes explain only a small part of it, and dislike varies by ancestry: in young adults in Toronto it ranged from 3% to 21%.
The seeds taste different from the leaves, warmer and spicier, because they get their aroma from a different compound, linalool. A quarter cup of leaves (4 g) has 1 calorie and about a tenth of the daily vitamin K, so it flavors food without adding much nutrition. Most health research tests seed powder, seed oil or lab extracts, not a handful of leaves.
Health benefits of coriander
The top findings from 16 studies, strongest evidence first
What the stars mean
- Strong. Several randomized trials, pooled in a meta-analysis, point the same way, or regulators (FDA or EFSA) have approved the claim.
- Moderate. Good randomized trials support it, but there are fewer of them, or their results vary.
- Limited. Small, short or single trials, or mixed results. Promising, but it needs confirmation.
Population and lab studies get no stars: they show a link or a mechanism, not proof.
How we rate evidence →- ★Lower blood sugar and LDL in diabetesIn type 2 diabetes, 1 g of coriander seed powder a day for 6 weeks lowered fasting blood sugar and LDL more than placebo. In 40 people, blood sugar fell from 156 to 130 mg/dL and LDL from 127 to 111 mg/dL.
- ★Lower top blood pressure number, better blood fatsIn 80 people with high blood fats, 2 g of coriander seed powder a day for 40 days lowered the top blood pressure number. Blood fats improved too, and coriander had the largest effect on blood pressure of the three supplements; the abstract gives no sizes.
- ★Shorter, milder, less frequent migrainesIn 68 people with migraine, a coriander fruit (seed) syrup for a month made attacks 5.7 hours shorter and about half as frequent. Everyone also took a migraine drug, and it was a syrup, not the kitchen herb.
- ★Less indigestion in a coriander capsule trialA twice-daily capsule of coriander and Bunium persicum, a related spice, beat placebo on indigestion symptoms and quality of life over 4 weeks. The abstract does not say how much of the mix was coriander.
- ★Less abdominal pain and bloating in IBSA blend of coriander, lemon balm and spearmint extracts eased abdominal pain and bloating in 32 people with irritable bowel syndrome over 8 weeks. Coriander was one of three extracts, so this cannot show what it does alone.
All 16 studies, strongest evidence first
1 g a day of coriander seed powder for 6 weeks lowered fasting blood sugar and LDL cholesterol more than placebo in 40 people with type 2 diabetes
Double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in adults aged 30 to 60, 20 per group, using ground coriander seed, not leaves. In the coriander group fasting blood sugar fell from 156 to 130 mg/dL and LDL from 127 to 111 mg/dL, and total cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin resistance fell too. The trial was small and short, and the authors report no conflicts of interest.
2 g a day of coriander seed powder for 40 days lowered systolic blood pressure and improved blood fats in a four-group trial of 80 people with high blood fat levels
Randomized trial with 20 people per group taking coriander seed powder, garlic powder, a 1:1 mix of both, or placebo, with 20 more days of follow-up. All three supplements changed BMI, cholesterol, triglycerides and systolic pressure (P below 0.05), and the coriander powder had the largest effect on blood pressure. The abstract gives no sizes of change and does not say whether it was blinded.
Coriander fruit syrup taken three times a day for a month cut the duration, severity and frequency of migraine attacks
Triple-blind trial in 68 people with migraine (66 analyzed), all also taking 500 mg of sodium valproate a day. They had 15 mL of syrup made from coriander fruit, which is the seed, or a placebo syrup. Attacks in the syrup group were 5.7 hours shorter, 3.65 pain units lower and about half as frequent. It tested a syrup added to a drug, not the kitchen herb.
A capsule of coriander and a related spice, Bunium persicum, taken twice a day for 4 weeks improved indigestion symptoms and quality of life in people with functional dyspepsia
Double-blind trial that enrolled 90 people, and 40 per group finished. Each capsule held 500 mg of the herbal mix or placebo, and people were followed for 4 more weeks. Every outcome beat placebo (P below 0.05) with no serious side effects. The abstract does not say how much of the mix was coriander.
An extract blend of coriander, lemon balm and spearmint eased abdominal pain and bloating in 32 people with irritable bowel syndrome
Pilot trial. People were randomly given the blend or placebo for 8 weeks, each with loperamide or psyllium depending on their bowel pattern. The severity and frequency of pain and bloating were lower on the blend. Coriander was one of three extracts, so this cannot show what coriander does alone.
200 mg a day of coriander seed oil, taken as a supplement, reduced skin redness after stress and itching in healthy women with sensitive skin
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial. Redness after skin stripping and itching after a stinging test fell after 28 days, and the women rated their skin as less sensitive after 56 days. All authors work for Seppic, which holds patent applications on the oil.
A coriander essential oil mouthwash used for 2 weeks did not change the mouth microbiome compared with water in 27 people with gum disease
Randomized three-arm trial, with rinsing twice a day. Chlorhexidine, the benchmark mouthwash, did change the microbiome, and both it and the oil slowed a gum disease bacterium in the lab, chlorhexidine more strongly. The authors say a modest effect cannot be ruled out in a larger study and that no clinical benefit can be inferred.
A common DNA variant near the smell-receptor gene OR6A2 was linked to cilantro tasting soapy
Genome-wide study by 23andMe researchers. 14,604 people of European ancestry said whether cilantro tasted like soap, and the finding held in 11,851 others who said whether they liked it. OR6A2 binds aldehydes found in cilantro, so it is the leading candidate. Common variants explain little of the difference (heritability about 0.087), and only people of European ancestry were studied.
Disliking cilantro ranged from 3% to 21% across ethnic groups of young adults in Toronto
Survey of 1,639 people aged 20 to 29, who rated cilantro on a 9-point scale, with 1 to 4 counted as dislike. Dislike was 21% in East Asian, 17% in Caucasian, 14% in African-descent, 7% in South Asian, 4% in Hispanic and 3% in Middle Eastern participants. It was a convenience sample from a campus and cannot separate genes from how often people eat cilantro.
Cilantro was the food most strongly linked to illness in a 2013 US outbreak of Cyclospora, an intestinal parasite
Investigation by CDC and state health officials of outbreaks that reached 631 cases across several states, 270 of them in Texas. In a case-control study of one cluster of 25 cases, eating cilantro had a matched odds ratio of 19.8, and people in three other clusters also ate it. Traceback pointed to three suppliers in Puebla, Mexico, but the authors say the data could not prove it for every case.
Coriander (called Chinese parsley) given to mice lowered the lead stored in their bones
Mice drank water with lead at 1000 ppm for 32 days, and some also got the herb by stomach tube for 25 days. Lead in the femur and lead-related kidney injury both fell, and a chelating drug used as a check also cut femur lead. The authors suggest some substance in the herb binds lead. This was mice at a high lead dose, with no human data.
Coriander given by mouth lowered blood pressure in rats fed a high-fructose, high-salt diet
Rats got 1.0 or 2.0 g of coriander per kg of body weight, which is a large dose by weight. Systolic, diastolic and mean pressure all rose less, serum uric acid fell, and gut bacteria such as Bifidobacterium increased. The abstract does not say which part of the plant was used.
A coriander leaf extract prevented weight gain and fatty liver in mice fed a high-fat diet
Mice got 100 or 200 mg/kg a day of the extract for 12 weeks. It also lowered liver weight and fat build-up and calmed an inflammation pathway (NF-κB) in the liver. The main compounds were chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, rutin and isoquercetin. This was an extract in mice, not leaves in people.
A coriander extract lowered lead levels and protected the liver in rats given lead acetate
Rats got 50 mg/kg of lead acetate and then 50 mg/kg of a methanol extract of coriander or its fractions. Lead was lower and liver damage milder than in poisoned rats given nothing, and hemoglobin and hematocrit differed from the control group. The abstract does not name the plant part, and a methanol extract is a lab product, not food.
A compound in cilantro leaf, (E)-2-dodecenal, switched on nerve potassium channels and delayed seizures in a lab model
In cell tests it activated the main brain channel KCNQ2/KCNQ3 at an EC50 of 60 nM, a very low concentration, and it delayed seizures caused by pentylenetetrazole in an animal model. It is one isolated compound, and no one has tested whether eating cilantro does this.
A heated coriander leaf extract protected dopamine-producing brain cells in rats exposed to a toxin
The 0.25% extract was injected into the rat brain together with 6-hydroxydopamine, a toxin that kills these cells, so nothing was eaten. It also reduced reactive oxygen species and zinc imbalance in the cells. This is an early lab result with no human data.
Who should be careful with coriander
Most people can eat coriander freely. Take a little care if one of these applies:
- Warfarin. Cilantro contains vitamin K, about 12 µg in a quarter cup of leaves, and vitamin K can change how this blood thinner works. A garnish adds little; keep the amount steady from week to week and check with your clinic before big changes or before taking coriander supplements.
- Allergy. Coriander allergy is documented, mostly in case reports. A review of spice and herb allergies in children lists coriander among those most often implicated, and a case report describes anaphylaxis after eating cilantro. Stop eating it and get medical advice if you get swelling, hives or trouble breathing.
- Raw leaves and Cyclospora. Fresh cilantro was linked to a 2013 US outbreak of this intestinal parasite, with 631 cases across several states. That was one event, not a reason to avoid cilantro, but it is a reason to rinse the leaves well.
How to choose, store and eat coriander
- Leaves (cilantro): best raw or stirred in at the end, since heat dulls the flavor; a quarter cup (4 g) gives 1 calorie and about 12 µg of vitamin K.
- Seeds (coriander): toast whole seeds in a dry pan or grind them fresh, because ground seed loses flavor fast; the diabetes trial above used 1 g a day of powder.
- Stems and roots: all parts are edible, and the roots have a deeper flavor that Thai cooks pound into soups and curry pastes.
Pick bunches with bright, fragrant leaves and no wilted, yellow or blackened ones. Stand the stems in water like flowers, cover loosely with a bag, change the water every two days and use within a week. Rinse just before using: in USDA tests of 176 cilantro samples in 2019, 4 had a residue above the legal limit.
Sources
- Dietary advice for patients taking warfarin. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
- Anticoagulant medicines: considerations. NHS.
- Berghea EC, Feketea G, Cosoreanu MT, et al. Spices, herbs and allergic reactions in children: myth or reality – a narrative review with scoping elements. Front Allergy. 2025.
- Unkle DW, Ricketti AJ, Ricketti PA, Cleri DJ, Vernaleo JR. Anaphylaxis following cilantro ingestion. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2012.
- Abanyie F, Harvey RR, Harris JR, et al. 2013 multistate outbreaks of Cyclospora cayetanensis infections associated with fresh produce: focus on the Texas investigations. Epidemiol Infect. 2015.
- Fruit and Vegetable Guide Series: Cilantro. Utah State University Extension. 2023.
- Pesticide Data Program annual summary, calendar year 2019. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.
- Coriander. Wikipedia.
History of coriander
Coriander is one of the oldest herbs people have used. It is native to the Mediterranean region and grows wild over a wide area of West Asia and southern Europe, so it is hard to say where it first grew. Dried fruits found at Nahal Hemar Cave and Atlit-Yam in Israel are roughly 6,000 to 8,000 years old and are the oldest coriander finds known, if they truly belong to those layers.
About 500 mL of coriander fruits were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. Coriander does not grow wild in Egypt, which suggests the Egyptians grew it, and the Ebers Papyrus, a medical text from around 1550 BCE, mentions its uses.
In Greece, coriander may have been grown since at least the second millennium BCE. A Linear B tablet from Pylos says it was grown to make perfume, and the earliest written form of its name is Mycenaean Greek. Both the seeds, as a spice, and the leaves, as a flavoring, were in use.
Complaints about the smell are old too. The English word may trace back to the Greek koris, a bed bug, because of the leaves’ pungent smell. The Roman writer Pliny praised green coriander as cooling and refreshing, while the English herbalist John Gerard called it a very stinking herb.
The names still differ by language. Cilantro is the Spanish word, and American English uses it for the fresh leaves because of Mexican cooking, keeping coriander for the seeds. The leaves are also called Chinese parsley, and the Mandarin name, xiāngcài, means fragrant greens.
Sources
- Coriander. Wikipedia.
- Eriksson N, Wu S, Do CB, et al. A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference. Flavour. 2012.
- Fruit and Vegetable Guide Series: Cilantro. Utah State University Extension. 2023.
Frequently asked questions about coriander
Is cilantro good for you?
For most people it is a healthy herb, but it is eaten in tiny amounts. A quarter cup of fresh leaves (4 g) has 1 calorie, about 12 µg of vitamin K (a tenth of the daily value) and 1% of the daily value each for vitamins A and C. No study here shows that eating cilantro prevents disease, and the human trials used seed products and none reached moderate evidence.
Why does cilantro taste like soap?
Partly because of your genes. In a study of 14,604 people of European ancestry, a variant near a cluster of smell-receptor genes, including OR6A2, was linked to a soapy taste, though common variants explain little of the difference. The soapy smell is attributed to aldehydes in the leaves, and dislike ranged from 3% to 21% across ethnic groups in a Toronto survey.
Is cilantro the same as coriander?
Yes, they are the same plant, Coriandrum sativum. In the US, cilantro means the fresh leaves and coriander the dried seeds, while elsewhere coriander often means the leaves too. They taste different, because the leaves get their flavor mostly from aldehydes and the seeds from linalool.
Does cilantro detox heavy metals?
No human study shows it. The idea comes from animal work: mice given lead and coriander had less lead in the femur, and rats given a coriander extract had lower lead levels. Those used high lead doses, mice and rats, and in one case an extract with no plant part named. A 2025 US case report went the other way, linking lead poisoning to coriander powder that was possibly adulterated. If you worry about metal exposure, a blood test and your doctor are the route, not herbs.
Does coriander lower blood sugar or cholesterol?
Possibly, in small trials, and only for the seed. In 40 people with type 2 diabetes, 1 g a day of seed powder for 6 weeks lowered fasting blood sugar (156 to 130 mg/dL in the coriander group) and LDL (127 to 111 mg/dL) more than placebo. A trial of 80 people with high blood fats also reported better blood fats and lower systolic pressure on 2 g a day, without giving sizes. Fresh cilantro has not been tested, so do not swap it for diabetes or cholesterol treatment.
Does coriander help digestion or IBS?
Not shown for coriander alone. A capsule of coriander and Bunium persicum improved symptoms in 90 people with functional dyspepsia over 4 weeks, and an extract blend of coriander, lemon balm and spearmint eased pain and bloating in 32 people with irritable bowel syndrome. Coriander was only one ingredient in each, so we cannot credit it.
Is raw cilantro safe to eat?
Usually, but fresh herbs can carry germs, so rinse them. A 2013 US outbreak of Cyclospora with 631 cases was linked to cilantro in four Texas clusters, traced to suppliers in Puebla, Mexico. Rinse the leaves just before use, and in USDA tests of 176 samples in 2019, 4 had a residue above the legal limit.
Can you eat cilantro if you take warfarin?
Usually yes, if you keep the amount steady. Cilantro has vitamin K, about 12 µg in a quarter cup (4 g) of leaves and 310 µg per 100 g, which can change how warfarin works. A garnish adds little, but ask your clinic before eating large amounts or taking coriander supplements.