Description.
Coriander is a member of the umbrella family. It is a herbaceous annual plant, about 30-70 cm in height. The root of the plant is pivotal. Stem - straight, not pubescent, strongly branched. Radical leaves of coriander are tripartite, with long petioles. Lower cauline leaves on short petioles, upper - pinnately divided, sessile. Flowers are small, white or pink, collected in the inflorescence in the form of an umbrella. The flowering time is June-July. The fruit of coriander is a brown, two-seeded, spherical shape. The time of fruit ripening is August-September.
Coriander can be found in the middle and southern parts of Russia: in the middle belt, in the Caucasus. It occurs in Central Asia, in the Crimea. The plant is very popular as a spicy seasoning (coriander). It gets along well with other garden plants - for example, with cauliflower, it feels good in the shadow of apple trees. When grown on leafy greens it is often possible to get several crops in one season. Coriander - light-loving plant, during flowering especially needs moisture.
Coriander is a chemical compound.
As a medicine, fruits and leaves of the plant are harvested, they serve as raw materials for obtaining essential oil.
The fruits of coriander are more rich in essential oil than leaves. Coriander contains various substances: fatty oils (including palmitic, oleic, linoleic, stearic and other fatty acids), alkaloids, rutin, vitamins of group B, vitamin C, carotene (serves for synthesis in the body of vitamin A), vegetable proteins, simple sugar, starch, pectin, tannins (give astringent effect, are used in the treatment of digestive organs), sterols, steroids, organic acids.
The essential oil of coriander is characterized by a burning taste and a pungent odor. Terpenes (hydrocarbons that are also obtained from some other plants or resin from coniferous trees), terpene alcohols: geraniol - with the aroma of a rose, and linalool - with the aroma of a lily of the valley are found in it. With strong dilution, the taste and smell of coriander oil lose their sharpness and become very pleasant.
Healing properties and application of coriander.
Green coriander - an excellent vitamin and spicy additive to dishes. In perfume compositions, essential oil of coriander gives notes of lily of the valley and roses to fragrances.
Curative coriander fruits and grass are harvested as medicinal raw materials. Preparations based on coriander are known for their antimicrobial properties. They promote the healing of wounds, have analgesic effect, are used as an expectorant. They have choleretic, laxative, antihemorrhoid action, promote digestion and fat burning, and are used in the treatment of certain mental disorders.
In diseases of the liver and gall bladder, preparations based on coriander seeds are used as a cholagogue, they improve appetite and digestion, help with flatulence, and are also shown as anthelmintic. The antimicrobial effect of coriander essential oil makes it possible to effectively use it (in diluted form) for the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract and oral cavity. It is also used to improve the taste and smell of medicines.
In the treatment of inflammatory eye diseases, citral is used, which is extracted from the essential oil of coriander. Cholagogue tea includes fruits of coriander, along with mint, leaves of trefoil and flowers of immortelle, they also form part of antihemorrhoid and laxative medicinal collections.
The recipe for preparation of a medicinal product based on coriander.
Since ancient times, folk medicine has known about the curative properties of coriander and accumulated experience from the use in the treatment of many diseases.
- Here is a recipe for infusion from coriander fruits:
take 1 tbsp. l. fruit, grind (you can pound in a mortar), pour 1 cup of boiling water, wrap it well, insist for 30 minutes, after the infusion should be filtered. In diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, take 2 tbsp. l. infusion before meals for 30 minutes, three times a day.
- Decoction of the fruits of coriander is used for depression and increased sexual excitability. You can prepare it like this:
take 1 teaspoonful of fruit, chop, add 1 cup of boiled cold water, boil the mixture for 3 minutes, add water to the original volume, again bring to a boil. Allow the broth to cool, strain. Take a decoction three times a day for a third of a glass.
- With depression, you can use a tincture of coriander fruits :
to prepare it you need 4 tbsp. l. crushed fruits per 1 liter of vodka. Then leave the mixture for 3 weeks to infuse in a dark place and at room temperature. Strain, take with depression three times a day for 20 drops, diluted with water.
Coriander is a medicinal plant with many beneficial effects and properties, as well as a simple vitamin supplement, and a flavorful seasoning for food.