Cilantro or Coriander (Coriandrum sativum, L.) is an annual herb that belongs to the Apiaceae family.

It is grown for its leaves and aromatic seeds in Europe, North Africa and Asia as medicinal and culinary grass.

Step-by-step summary of industrial process.

• Harvesting. Cilantro is harvested when it is mature and the leaves are lush green.
• Washing and Cleaning. The cilantro is washed and cleaned to remove impurities and soil residues.
• Pre-dehydration. The leaves are slightly dried to facilitate further dehydration.
• Dehydration. The leaves are then further dehydrated using a method like hot air or sun-drying to remove almost all of the water.
• Crushing (if needed). The dehydrated cilantro can be crushed or ground as per the desired specifications.
• Packaging. The dehydrated cilantro is finally packaged in airtight containers to preserve its freshness and flavor until use.

Form and color. Dehydrated cilantro can take various forms, including whole leaves, flakes, or powder, and has a pale green or greenish-yellow color, depending on the dehydration process used.

Commercial applications. Dehydrated cilantro is used in a wide range of products and applications in the food industry, including spice mixes, sauces, dehydrated soups, snacks, and baked goods, as a component that adds a distinctive flavor and a light aroma to the final products.

Studies

The chemical composition of Coriander's essential oil sees Linalool 57.57%, Geramil acetate 15.09% and Camphor 3.02% as the main ingredient. There are also small amounts of Geraniol 0.24%, Limonene 0.62%, Menthol 0.54%, Eugenol 0.76% (1).

This study examines the effects of essential oil chemically characterized by Coriandrum sativum leaves on the viability and adhesion of candida albicans and non-albicans strains, both in planktonic and biofilm crops and assessed its antifungal mode of action. This essential oil has demonstrated strong antifungal and anti-stick activity against Candida spp., as well as anti-proteolitic activity against C. albicans and works by increasing the ion permeability of the cell membrane rather than disturbing the biosynthesis of cell walls (2).

Studies have attributed to coriander and its essential oil sedative-hypnotic, anti-anxiety and antioxidant activities (3).

Cosmetics

Skin conditioning agent. It is the mainstay of topical skin treatment by restoring, increasing or improving skin tolerance to external factors, including melanocyte tolerance. The most important function of the conditioning agent is to prevent skin dehydration, but the subject is rather complex and involves emollients and humectants.

Coriander studies

References____________________________________________________________________

(1) Khani A. and Rahdari T. (2012) Chemical composition and insecticidal activity of essential Oil from Coriandrum sativum seeds against Tribolium confusum and Callosobruchus maculatus. ISRN. Pharm. 263517.

(2) Freires I.de.A., Murata R.M., Furletti V.F., Sartoratto A., Alencar S.M., Figueira G.M. et al. (2014) Coriandrum sativum L. (Coriander) essential oil: antifungal activity and mode of action on Candida spp., and molecular targets affected in human whole-genome expression. PLoS ONE 9, e99086.

(3) Emamghorashi M., Heidari-Hamedani G. Sedative-hypnotic activity of extracts and essential oil of Coriander seeds. Iran. J. Med. Sci. 2006;31:22–27.