Coriander

Coriander also known as cilantro is probably native to the middle east and southern Europe. Some papyrus dated from 1500 BC talked about cilantro, meaning that the medicinal virtues of this herb where known by humanity long ago.
Three parts of the plant are used for human consumption. The leaves, the fruits which look like seeds, and the roots ( mostly in Thai cuisine).

The subtil perfume of the coriander and its digestive virtues makes it very used and useful in middle eastern and indian cuisine where it balances the effect of the other spices like for exemple curry or pepper.
The good effect on the digestive system ( digestion, bloated stomach, etc) is one of the well known medicinal virtue of coriander, but not the only one.
Recent studies from Mexican and U.S. scientists have shown that coriander could help fight salmonella. Coriander contains antibacterial agents such as dodecenal and eight other antibiotics compounds that are believed good in help fighting food born illness.

Coriander can help stimulate insuline secretion and lower blood sugar. It also helps lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase HDL (good) cholesterol.
This herb is also rich in minerals such as calcium and manganese, therefore good at helping regulate blood pressure and heart rate.
Coriander is very rich in vitamin K ( 25% per 100g of serving) which helps bone mass building, thus is of a good help in fighting osteoporosis, and also can be of some help in alzheimer disease treatment since it helps limiting neuronal cell damages.
Most of all, coriander is a very subtly perfumed plant that will make any of your culinary preparation smell like heaven on earth.