INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE & BIOLOGY ISSN Print: 1560–8530; ISSN Online: 1814–9596 13–323/2014/16–1–125–131 http://www.fspublishers.org Full Length Article To cite this paper: Nyakudya, T., S. Makaula, N. Mkumla and K. Erlwanger, 2014. Dietary supplementation with coriander (Coriandrum sativum) seed: effect on growth performance, circulating metabolic substrates and lipid profile of the liver and visceral adipose tissue in healthy female rats. Int. J. Agric. Biol., 16: 125–131 Dietary Supplementation with Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) Seed: Effect on Growth Performance, Circulating Metabolic Substrates, and Lipid Profile of the Liver and Visceral Adipose Tissue in Healthy Female Rats Trevor Nyakudya 1 , Siyanda Makaula 2,3 , Nompilo Mkumla 2 and Kennedy Erlwanger 2* 1 Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein 2028, Johannesburg, South Africa 2 School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Parktown 2193, Johannesburg, South Africa 3 Walter Sisulu University, Private Bag X1, UNITRA 5117, South Africa *For correspondence: Kennedy.Erlwanger@wits.ac.za Abstract The rising incidence of metabolic syndrome globally has been attributed to sedentary lifestyles and the consumption of high energy diets with a low omega-3: omega-6 fatty acid ratio. Coriander seeds, commonly used for culinary purposes, have beneficial health effects. We investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with coriander seeds on growth performance, hepatic and visceral adipose tissue lipid storage and circulating metabolic substrates in healthy, growing rats. Female Sprague Dawley rats (150-200 g) were fed either standard rat chow (n = 8) or standard rat chow supplemented with crushed coriander seeds (n = 8; 500 mg kg -1 body mass). After five weeks, there were no significant differences in body mass gain, plasma free fatty acids and triglyceride concentrations of the rats (p > 0.05; t-test). Whilst dietary supplementation with coriander did not affect the lipid content of the liver, it significantly increased the amount of monounsaturated (22.62 ± 6.48% vs 0.65 ± 0.32%) and polyunsaturated (54.89 ± 5.10% vs 22.16 ± 7.79%) fatty acids in the visceral adipose tissue where it also decreased the saturated fatty acid content (p < 0.05; t-test). Coriander increased the omega 3: omega 6 ratio in the visceral adipose tissue which may explain its health benefits. © 2014 Friends Science Publishers Keywords: Coriander; Visceral fat; Liver lipids Introduction Since time immemorial, herbs and spices have been used by indigenous communities for culinary and medicinal purposes (Sharma et al., 2011). The use of diet (nutraceuticals) is acknowledged as an important factor in the prevention and management of disease. The presence of a number of biologically active phytochemicals has been ascribed to the ability of most plant-based foods and medicines to prevent and manage disease progression. One such plant that has been identified and is currently being used as a spice for cooking and as an herb in ethnomedicine is Coriandrum sativum L. C. sativum is described as “a glabrous, aromatic, herbaceous annual plant” (Pandey et al., 2011) that belongs to the family Umbelliferae (Apiaceae), order Apiales with over 30 genera and 300 species of trees (Asgarpanah and Kazemirash, 2012), is commonly known as coriander, “cilantro” in the USA or Chinese parsley (Asgarpanah and Kazemirash, 2012), and can grow up to 60 cm (Momin et al., 2012). Due to its medicinal properties, records of C. sativum use date back to 1550BC (Deepa and Anuradha, 2011). Coriander use is believed to have emanated from the Mediterranean region (Sharma et al., 2011), and its consumption has become widespread as its medicinal and culinary uses have been publicized. Volatile phytochemical constituents that have been isolated from different parts of C. sativum include essential oils, flavonoids, fatty acids, sterols isocaumarins, phenolic compounds (caffeic acid, protocatechinic acid and glycitin) and coriandrones among others (Momin et al., 2012). The identified essential oils and phytochemical constituents in coriander are important in ethnomedicine, beverages, the pharmaceutical and the food industry (Burdock and Carabin, 2009). Green, fresh, coriander leaves are generally used as a spice for cooking soups and in curries due to their flavor enhancing properties (Asgarpanah and Kazemirash, 2012), while the dried seeds are used as herbs in ethnomedicine for the treatment of a variety of diseases (Chithra and Leelamma, 1999; Momin et al., 2012).