Eryngium foetidum L.

Eryngium foetidum is a tropical perennial and annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Its scientific Latin name literally translates as "foul-smelling thistle". Common names include culantro (/kuːˈlɑːntroʊ/ or /kuːˈlæntroʊ/), Mexican coriander and long coriander. It is native to Mexico and South America, but is cultivated worldwide. In the United States, where it is not well known outside Latino and Caribbean communities, the name culantro sometimes causes confusion with Coriandrum sativum (also in Apiaceae), the leaves of which are known as cilantro, and of which culantro is said to taste like a stronger version.^[1]

Common names[edit]

Commonly known as culantro in English-speaking Caribbean countries, Eryngium foetidum is also referred to as shado beni (from French chardon béni, meaning "blessed thistle," not to be confused with the similarly named Cnicus benedictus or bandhaniya (Hindi: बन्धनिय, meaning "shrub cilantro"). Other common names include: cilantro coyote (Costa Rica), recao (Puerto Rico), cilantro ancho or sabanero (Dominican Republic), long coriander, wild or Mexican coriander, fitweed, spiritweed, stinkweed, duck-tongue herb, sawtooth or saw-leaf herb, and sawtooth coriander.

In Southeast Asian cooking, the Vietnamese name ngò gai, the Cambodian (Khmer) name ji ana (ជីររណារ) (other names are ជីរបារាំង ji barang, ជីរយួន ji yuon, ជីរបន្លា ji banla, ជីរសង្កើច ji sankoech), or (less often) the Thai name phak chi farang (Thai: ผักชีฝรั่ง, meaning "Farang's coriander") are sometimes used.

In India, it is used mainly in the northeastern state of Assam, where it is known by the local name Man Dhonia, Manipur, where it is known by the local name awa phadigom or sha maroi, Mizoram, where it is known as bahkhawr, and Tripura, where it is known as bilati dhonia (Bengali phrase that literally means foreign coriander) and in Nagaland it is commonly known as Burma dhania. It is also used in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and in a few parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. It is unknown in other parts of India.^[2] Spiny coriander (Eryngium foetidum L.) is a leafy spice herb of tropical regions of world (America, South Asia, Pacific Islands, South Europe and Africa) which is used extensively for garnishing, marinating, flavouring and seasoning of foods.^[3]

In Surinam, it is known as sneki wiwiri, meaning snake weed, and is used for preparing homeopathic medicine, but not eaten.

In Peru, where coriander is known as culantro, E. foetidum is used in the cooking of the Amazon region and is referred to as sacha culantro ("jungle culantro").

In Brazil it is known as coentro-bravo, coentro-largo or chicory and is used extensively in amazonian cuisine.

In Trinidad and Tobago, it is known as bhandhania by the Indian community and shandon beni by other locals.

Uses[edit]

Eryngium foetidum foliage

Culinary[edit]

E. foetidum is widely used in seasoning and marinating in the Caribbean, particularly in Panama, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago, and in Peru's Amazon regions. It is also used extensively in Thailand, India, Vietnam, Laos, and other parts of Asia as a culinary herb. It dries well, retaining good color and flavor, making it valuable in the dried herb industry. It is sometimes used as a substitute for cilantro (coriander in British English), but it has a much stronger taste.

In the United States, E. foetidum grows naturally in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.^[4] It is sold in grocery stores as a culinary herb under the common names; "culantro" /kuːˈlɑːntroʊ/ or "recao" /reɪˈkaʊ/.

Traditional medicine[edit]

This section needs more medical references for verification or relies too heavily on primary sources. Please review the contents of the section and add the appropriate references if you can. Unsourced or poorly sourced material may be removed. (August 2014)

E. foetidum has been used in traditional medicine for burns, earache, fevers, hypertension, constipation, fits, asthma, stomachache, worms, infertility complications, snake bites, diarrhea, and malaria.^[5]

Eryngium foetidum is also known as E. antihystericum.^[6] The specific name antihystericum reflects the fact that this plant has traditionally been used for epilepsy.^[7] 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.^{[8][medical citation needed]} A decoction of the leaves has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects in rats.^[9]

Eryngial is a chemical compound isolated from E. foetidum.^[10] The University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica, has investigated the use of enyngial as a treatment for human Strongyloides stercoralis infection (strongyloidiasis).

It is used as an ethno-medicinal 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). Pharmacological investigations have demonstrated anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-convulsant, anti-clastogenic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic and anti-bacterial activity.^{[11][unreliable medical source?]}

See also[edit]

• Cuban cuisine
• Cuisine of the Dominican Republic
• Puerto Rican cuisine
• Thai cuisine
• Vietnamese cuisine
• Mizo cuisine

References[edit]