The study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, shows why salsa, a staple of Mexican food, and many other spicy foods seem to have innate antibacterial activity. It fits in with other studies done over the years that show popular spices can keep food from spoiling.
The compound, called dodecenal, is found in the fresh leaves and the seeds of cilantro, also known as coriander.
'A potent antibiotic'
In lab dishes dodecenal was twice as effective as the commonly used antibiotic drug gentamicin against Salmonella, a frequent and sometimes deadly cause of foodborne illness.
“We were surprised that dodecenal was such a potent antibiotic,” Isao Kubo, a chemist at the University of California, Berkeley who led the study, said in a statement.
But it is not potent enough to fight food poisoning in naturally occurring amounts, Kubo said.
“If you were eating a hot dog or hamburger you would probably have to eat an equivalent weight of cilantro to have an optimal effect against food poisoning,” Kubo said.
Kubo’s team also found a dozen other antibiotic compounds in fresh cilantro that showed some activity against a variety of harmful bacteria.
This member of the carrot family is also referred to as Chinese Parsley and Coriander. It is actually the leaves (and stems) of the Coriander plant. Cilantro has a very pungent odor and is widely used in Mexican, Caribbean and Asian cooking. The Cilantro leaves look a bit like flat Italian parsley and in fact are related. Grow Your Own
History and Lore
Coriander grows wild in South East Europe and had been cultivated in Egypt, India and China for thousands of years. It is mentioned in Sanskrit text and the Bible Spanish conquistadors introduced it to Mexico and Peru where it now commonly paired with chilies in the local cuisine. It has since become very popular in the Southwest and Western part of the United States as well as in most metropolitan areas. An interesting note is that people of European decent frequently are reviled by the smell of cilantro. It has not gained in popularity in Europe as it has in many other parts of the world.
Coriander is believed to be named after "koris", the Greek word for "bedbug" as it was said they both emitted a similar odor. The Chinese used the herb in love potions believing it provided immortality. Coriander is one of the herbs thought to have aphrodisiac qualities. The book of The Arabian nights tells a tale of a merchant who had been childless for 40 years and but was cured by a concoction that included coriander. That book is over 1000 years old so the history of coriander as an aphrodisiac dates back far into history. Cilantro was also know to be used as an "appetite" stimulant.
Buy and Store
Cilantro can normally be found fresh in your local grocery store and is available year-round. Before you store cilantro it should be rinsed and left moist (not wet) and place in a plastic bag. The cilantro may be stored for up to 1 week.
Medicinal Uses
Coriander is considered an aid to the digestive system. It is an appetite stimulant and aids in the secretion of gastric juices. A poultice of Coriander seed can be applied externally to relieve painful joints and rheumatism. Once source (Herbs & Herb Gardening by Jessica Houdret) said the seeds can be mixed with violets for a remedy for a hangover.
The essential oils of the cilantro leaves contain antibacterial properties and can be used as a fungicide. Coriander seeds is considered to have cholesterol lowering properties.
http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/detox/cilantro.htm
Cilantro: A Common Spice/Herb That Can Save Your Life
Dr David Williams published in his newsletter Alternative (For the Health Conscious Individual) (Vol. 7, No. 12) June, 1998 the most interesting piece of information to come down the pike in years.
Chelation therapy has been used by conventional medicine to pull lead from people suffering from lead poisoning. Chelation (a Greek term meaning "claws," for it was thought that the chelator "grabbed" the metals from the blood and arteries) therapy is administered intravenously using the chemical agent EDTA. Today scientists know that the grabbing that takes place is simply a metaphor for biochemical reaction when a "chelator" contacts a heavy metal.
From the successes of cleaning up toxic amounts of lead from patients, some doctors experimented with EDTA Chelation therapy to remove mercury and aluminum (associated with Alzheimer's disease; and get this; aluminum works with fluoride; fluoride slips through the blood-brain barrier). Now the interesting thing to come from these studies was that patients with cardiovascular disease reported feeling much better, more alive, could exercise longer without angina pains and shortness of breath.
Again, another theory popped up: if you get rid of the heavy metals in your body, you've removed the source of millions of free radicals and the tissues of the body begin to heal themselves, sloughing off the calcium that causes hardening of the arteries.
Now like most theories, this one has its detractors: the physicians who own yachts purchased with their profits from angioplasties, bypass surgeries, etc. are the most vocal. Intravenous chelation therapy costs a lot less than surgery and is not covered by most insurance companies (cheap? effective? I wonder who runs these companies).
Next we have oral chelation which consists of taking a balanced supplementation schedule that removes heavy metals from your body. This theory too has its detractors: the physicians who do intravenous chelation therapy. Profit is the bottom line in most medical theories. Sadly, all statistics on projected life-span are ignored when a the medical profession's profits are at stake: people on chelation therapy live longer than those having bypass surgery. Simple fact.
However, we now have the perfect chelation therapy as reported by Dr Williams, due to the studies from a lowly physician working alone by the name of Dr Omura.
Dr Omura found that fresh cilantro removes heavy metals
from the body in less than two weeks.
He also discovered that his patients had fewer colds and flu after removing the heavy metals because it seems that viruses and bacteria like to congregate in organs contaminated by heavy metals. His patients also had fewer Herpes outbreaks after removing these heavy metals.
Cilantro is a common Mexican and Middle Eastern spice. It must be used fresh and the stems too are just as good, however, your best chefs use only the leaves because the stems can be bitter. Tossed into a salad is a perfect way to use cilantro, or added to your favorite salsa really perks it up.
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