Eryngium foetidum is a tropical perennial herb in the family Apiaceae. Common names include culantro (/kuːˈlɑːntroʊ/ or /kuːˈlæntroʊ/), recao, chadon beni (pronounced shadow benny), Mexican coriander, bhandhania, long coriander, sawtooth coriander, and ngò gai.[2][3] It is native to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, but is cultivated worldwide, mostly in the tropics as a perennial, but sometimes in temperate climates as an annual.

Culantro
Eryngium foetidum leaves, with a US measuring tape for scale
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Eryngium
Species:	E. foetidum
Binomial name
Eryngium foetidum L.
Synonyms[1]
Eryngium antihystericum Rottler

In the United States, the common name culantro sometimes causes confusion with cilantro, a common name for the leaves of Coriandrum sativum (also in Apiaceae but in a different genus), of which culantro is said to taste like a stronger version.[4]

Uses

Culinary

Eryngium foetidum is widely used in seasoning, marinating and garnishing in the Caribbean, particularly in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Brazil's and Peru's Amazon regions. It is also used extensively as a culinary herb in Cambodia, Thailand, India, Nepal, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, southwestern China and other parts of tropical Asia.[5] It is sometimes used as a substitute for coriander leaves, but has a stronger taste. Contrary to coriander, Eryngium foetidum dries well, retaining good color and flavor, which makes it valuable in the dried-herb industry.

In the United States, E. foetidum grows naturally in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.[6]

Traditional medicine

This section needs more medical references for verification or relies too heavily on primary sources. (August 2014)

Eryngium foetidum has been used in traditional medicine in tropical regions for burns, earache, fevers, hypertension, constipation, fits, asthma, stomachache, worms, infertility complications, snake bites, diarrhea, and malaria.[7]

Eryngium foetidum is also known as E. anti­hysteri­cum.[8] The specific name anti­hysteri­cum reflects the fact that this plant has traditionally been used for epilepsy.[9] The plant is said to calm a person's 'spirit' and thus prevents epileptic 'fits', so is known by the common names spiritweed and fitweed. The anticonvulsant properties of this plant have been scientifically investigated.[10] A decoction of the leaves has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects in rats.[11]

Eryngial is a chemical compound isolated from E. foetidum.[12] The University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica, has investigated the use of eryngial as a treatment for human Strongyloides stercoralis infection (strongyloidiasis).

It is used as an ethnomedicinal plant for the treatment of a number of ailments such as fevers, chills, vomiting, burns, fevers, hypertension, headache, earache, stomachache, asthma, arthritis, snake bites, scorpion stings, diarrhea, malaria and epilepsy.^{[medical citation needed]} The main constituent of essential oil of the plant is eryngial (E-2-dodecenal). A pharmacological investigation claims to have demonstrated anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anticonvulsant, anticlastogenic, anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic, and antibacterial activity.[5]^{[unreliable medical source?]}

Chemistry

Qualitative analysis of the leaves demonstrated the presence of tannins and saponin, as well as some flavonoids; no alkaloids have been reported yet.[7] Caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid (CGA), and kaempferol have been among the phenolic compounds found in E. foetidum leaves.[13]

See also

References

External links

• Media related to Eryngium foetidum at Wikimedia Commons
• Long coriander (Eryngium foetidum L.) page from Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages

На других языках

[es] Eryngium foetidum

[fr] Eryngium foetidum

[ru] Синеголовник пахучий