Cilantro isn’t just a tasty addition to your homemade salsa. Research has showed that it has some significant health benefits, making it a worthy plant to add to soups, salads, curries and other dishes. Here are some of the reasons to consider making cilantro a staple in your spice rack or refrigerator.
Antifungal
Although more research needs to be done, one 2014 study found that the oil derived from the leaves of cilantro helped fight fungal infections, such as thrush. Although there are other treatments for yeast-related infections, some of them come with unpleasant side effects while cilantro seems to be relatively harmless.
Pain and inflammation
The extract of cilantro (called C. sativum) was found to produce a significant analgesic effect on mice in a 2015 study. The researchers believe C. sativum provides pain relief through the opioid system because the effects of naloxone—which blocks the effects of opioids—also blocked the pain relief provided by cilantro extract.
In another study, which was done on humans, two groups of migraine sufferers were given traditional migraine medicine three times a day for one month. The test group was also given 15 ml of coriander fruit syrup. (Coriander refers to the seeds from the cilantro plant.) The test group reported reduced duration, frequency and severity of migraines compared to the control group.
Anticancer
A 2019 study on prostate cells found that the extract of C. sativum reduced the expression of specific genes in prostate cancer cells. The cells weren’t able to spread as quickly, became less invasive and didn’t group together in colonies.
Similar results were found when exposing breast cancer cells to the leaves, stem and root of C. sativum. Researchers found that the cilantro exhibited anticancer effects and the breast cancer cells weren’t able to damage healthy cells due to oxidative stress.
Although the jury is still out on the benefits of cilantro, it seems to be a harmless addition to any diet.
