Moonbats, I have returned! I bring you friendly greetings and salutations from the edge of Sin City and the fringes of science! I bring you more fruits of my intellectual labor as food for thought.

With all things, but most especially with science, it's beneficial to occasionally review what you believe you know about something and do some fresh research to see if you can verify your presumed knowledge as accurate information or refute it as either myth, misinformation or a simple misunderstanding.

This occurred for me today when my good friend, one of our medical community insiders, texted me to inquire about something which he thought might have been told to him by me. I verified that I was indeed the one to inform him of the fact in question, then I began to question myself and decided I should attempt to verify the veracity of my memory and whether or not it is indeed a fact.

With a few clicks on PubMed I was able to verify that my knowledge of the subject is indeed accurately based upon accepted science which has since significantly advanced to additionally support the foundation of that information which I had imparted to my friend many years ago.

So, what was the question about? Cilantro/Coriander, Mercury, and Charcoal.

If you get it, I don't have to explain. Congratulations on increasing your chances of survival!

If you are unable to grasp the connection between those three things, then, there is considerable explaining necessary to get you up to The Speed Of Science.

[Note: in the USA we call the seeds 'coriander' and the leaves 'cilantro', however they are the same plant which is also known as 'Chinese parsley'; the scientific name is 'Coriandrum sativum'. I will be using the terms interchangeably.]

Let's back this up and get a little bit personal.

I came by this knowledge initially sometime in the late 1990s when I was working in the natural health and nutritional supplement industry. I had read, in an herbalist book from the 1970s, something about cilantro being an extremely potent "astringent" herb which should only be consumed in small amounts unless accompanied by capsules of activated charcoal. 

The belief was that somehow a compound within cilantro was able to break the bond of mercury which had accumulated in the body. White blood cells or macrophages were postulated to transport the mercury to the colon for elimination. 

Unfortunately, if not eliminated promptly, the free form mercury would be able to be reabsorbed into the bloodstream which could account for many people feeling extremely ill after consuming a meal with coriander seeds or fresh cilantro leaves.

I don't recall if the author had cited any sources, however around the same time as I had read that, then-current research had successfully demonstrated the accuracy of those claims and I do recall reading about that research in a natural supplement industry magazine sometime around 1997 or 1998.

In the spring of 1995, use of Chinese parsley for successful elimination of Hg deposits existing in various organs of the first author as the result of the decay of radioactive Thallium 201 injected for cardiac SPECT, was accidentally discovered after eating Vietnamese soup, which happened to contain Chinese parsley, also called cilantro. We also found Chinese parsley accelerates the excretion of Hg, Pb, and Al from the body though the urine.

So, once again, an accidental discovery of science has confirmed the truth of something previously dismissed as either 'an old wives tale', 'ignorant folklore ', 'superstition', or outright 'quackery'. It's funny how these things are discovered when they aren't being investigated.

They weren't looking for it, but there it is; the consumption of cilantro accelerates the excretion of mercury, lead, and aluminum from the body.

You might think that's the end of it, but you would be mistaken. How so? Well, it gets even more weird when you look deep into the link provided above.

Let's go farther down the rabbit hole to the source document and see what it was for which they were looking.

When 11 subjects were treated with Doxycycline for Chlamydia trachomatis infection, or anti-viral agents (EPA with DHA) for Herpes Family Viruses, drug uptake enhancement methods to selectively increase delivery of the drugs to the affected areas, and Chinese parsley tablets to remove the heavy metal deposits, the last traces of the infections and clinical symptoms disappeared completely. Therefore we hypothesized that the infectious micro-organisms mentioned above, somehow utilize the Hg or Pb to protect themselves from what would otherwise be effective antibiotics, and/or that heavy metal deposits in some way make antibiotics ineffective. Since the micro-organisms retreat to areas in which Insulin-like Growth Factors I & II normally exist, they may be utilizing them for their own growth and multiplication. These phenomena may be related to die development of drug resistance by the micro- organisms. Based on our Bi-Digital O-Ring Test study, we considered at least 12 different diseases which involve localized deposits of various metals with co-existing variety of infections. Among them was cancer, and as the first author’s previous study in the late 1980s indicated, various cancer and pre-cancer cell nuclei contained Hg along with 4 other parameters. Namely, in pre-cancer and cancer tissues the following 5 parameters coexist: 1) marked presence of Oncogene C-fos Ab2, 2) marked presence of Integrin α5β1, 3) presence of significant Hg deposits, 4) presence of virus, 5) absence of Acetylcholine. Since with the use of the anti viral agent and Chinese parsley the above parameters returned to almost normal on the first author’s upper arm where the pre-cancerous cells had been found, we are currently giving a number of volunteers, referred by physicians, (with various types of cancer with metastasis confirmed by histological examination) a combination of 2 dietary supplements: EPA with DHA as an anti-viral agent, and Chinese parsley tablets to remove the localized Hg deposits from the cell nuclei. Various drug uptake enhancement methods are included in this treatment. This preliminary study has shown potential beneficial effects in reducing of cancerous and metastatic tumors, and their associated pain.

Wow! Yeah, they were looking for treatments for Chlamydia and Herpes. What they found was another cascade of questions.

That's a rabbit hole for exploration another day. I didn't intend to be writing, yet again, about sexually transmitted infections, but that's where this knowledge first enters the official record of The Science; attempting to extract the mercury from some unfortunate soul's thermometer.

Fortunately, the science has continued to advance from there.

In 2004, it was discovered that 

Aliphatic (2E)-alkenals and alkanals characterized from the fresh leaves of the coriander Coriandrum sativum L. (Umbelliferae) were found to possess bactericidal activity against Salmonella choleraesuis ssp. choleraesuis ATCC 35640. (2E)-Dodecenal (C(12)) was the most effective against this food-borne bacterium with the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 6.25 microg/mL (34 microM), followed by (2E)-undecenal (C(11)) with an MBC of 12.5 microg/mL (74 microM). The time-kill curve study showed that these alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes are bactericidal against S. choleraesuis at any growth stage and that their bactericidal action comes in part from the ability to act as nonionic surfactants.

And, in 2010 essential oil of coriander was proven to have antibacterial effects:

The majority of the tested essential oils exibited considerable inhibitory capacity against all the organisms tested, as supported by growth inhibition zone diameters, MICs and MBC's. Thyme, coriander and basil oils proved the best antibacterial activity, while thyme and spearmint oils better inhibited the fungal species.

In 2011, essential oil of coriander was proven effective in preventing the growth of Candida:

The best activities against planktonic Candida spp. were observed for the essential oil and the grouped F(8-10) fractions from C. sativum. The crude oil also affected the biofilm formation in C. albicans causing a decrease in the biofilm growth. Chemical analysis of the F(8-10) fractions detected as major active compounds, 2-hexen-1-ol, 3-hexen-1-ol and cyclodecane. Standards of these compounds tested grouped provided a stronger activity than the oil suggesting a synergistic action from the major oil constituents. The activity of C. sativum oil demonstrates its potential for a new natural antifungal formulation.

In 2014, additional research reenforced that there is limited potential for coriander to be developed into a prescription drug as the isolation of specific compounds limits the effectiveness of the antifungal action against Candida infection as the compounds function synergistically:

The EO phytochemical profile indicates monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes as major components, which are likely to negatively impact the viability of yeast ce:lls. There seems to be a synergistic activity of the EO chemical compounds as their isolation into fractions led to a decreased antimicrobial effect. C. sativum EO may bind to membrane ergosterol, increasing ionic permeability and causing membrane damage leading to cell death, but it does not act on cell wall biosynthesis-related pathways. This mode of action is illustrated by photomicrographs showing disruption in biofilm integrity caused by the EO at varied concentrations. The EO also inhibited Candida biofilm adherence to a polystyrene substrate at low concentrations, and decreased the proteolytic activity of Candida albicans at minimum inhibitory concentration. Finally, the EO and its selected active fraction had low cytotoxicity on human cells, with putative mechanisms affecting gene expression in pathways involving chemokines and MAP-kinase (proliferation/apoptosis), as well as adhesion proteins.

As an interesting tangent suggestive of another rabbit hole to explore in another post, as a result of research on the antifungal action of coriander we have some clear evidence of the negative impact of cooking with a microwave oven. This particular study from 2015 is a twofer as it proved coriander essential oil is effective against Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Ecoli and P. aeruginosa, as well as showing that microwave cooking reduces the concentration of active compounds thereby impairing the nutritional value of food:

The total amount of monoterpenes hydrocarbons in HD EO differ significantly with the amount in MAHD EO (12.56 % compare to 1.82 %). HD EO showed greater activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans than MAHD EO. Moreover, their activities against Ecoli and P. aeruginosa were the same with Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) 0.781 and 6.25 μL mL(-1), respectively. By using MAHD method, it was superior in terms of saving energy and extraction time, although the oil yield and total composition decrease by using this method.

However, don't count on ever encountering this information in the corporate media stream, neither the effectiveness of Coriander essential oil nor the destructiveness of microwave ovens.

Like the information stream, let's move along and check in with a couple of updates.

In 2023, another study demonstrated the effectiveness of Coriander essential oil against biofilms:

There was inhibition of fungal growth during 24 hours of exposure at the 3 concentrations tested (250, 125, and 62.5 μg/mL). The concentration of 80 mg/mL promoted the greatest reduction in multispecies biofilm (70% reduction in biofilm). Coriandrum sativum L. essential oil extract is principally constituted of alcohols and aldehydes and presents fungicidal activity against Candida spp. in its in planktonic and biofilm forms.

Even more recently, this year, the effectiveness of Coriander essential oil as an antifungal and antimicrobial has researchers drooling over the possibility of patenting a single isolated component despite being aware of the augmented results through synergistic action of the whole herb:

The in vitro antimicrobial activity of CS-EO was assessed against five strains, including two gram-positive bacteria, two gram-negative bacteria, and one fungal strain (Candida albicans). Significant antibacterial and antifungal activities against all strains were found using the disc-diffusion assay, with zones of inhibition larger than 15 mm. The microdilution test highlighted the lowest MIC and MBC values with gram-positive bacteria, ranging from 0.0612 to 0.125% v/v for MIC and 0.125% v/v for MBC. The fungal strain's MFC was 1.0% v/v and its MIC was measured at 0.5%. Based on the MBC/MIC and MFC/MIC ratios, CS-EO exhibits bactericidal and fungicidal activity. The ADMET study indicates that the primary CS-EO compounds are good candidates for the development of pharmaceutical drugs due to their favorable pharmacokinetic properties.

Conclusion: These results point to a potential application of this plant as a natural remedy and offer empirical backing for its traditional uses. It is a promising environmentally friendly preservative that can be used extensively in the food and agricultural industries to prevent aflatoxin contamination and fungal growth in stored goods.

So, next time you order tacos, you're going request extra cilantro, aren't you? I often do.

Be certain to remember to take a capsule or 3 of activated charcoal with or immediately after that meal.

What? Is there any science on that? Yes!

Activated carbons have been widely used in the removal of mercuric ions from aqueous effluents.

"But, Marv," you say, "that's water treatment, not human medicine." And, I remind you that chemical bonds are chemical bonds and the human body is mostly water, but whatever.

Yes, activated charcoal is used in hospitals for the treatment of mercury poisoning and poisoning by other toxic metals.

Now that you have received this knowledge, I will leave you with some simple recommendations.

Invest in this knowledge by stocking your medicine cabinet with coriander essential oil and cilantro extract. Cilantro extract tastes terrible, but several hours of a horrible taste in your mouth is infinitely better than several days of incapacitating illness.

[Full disclosure: I haven't worked in the nutritional supplement industry since 2007, I don't have any product to sell, nor do I have any sponsors or investments in any producers of supplements. I wrote this out of the kindness of my heart with no profit motive other than the potential 2¢ in crypto I might be tipped if I am lucky.]

Perform your own investigation and report your results in the comments or write your own blog post. Show us that you are capable of learning on your own.

Until next time, Moonbats, may your mind continue to expand faster and farther than your belly!