Did you know that cilantro and coriander are the same plant?
In Spanish speaking countries and the US, coriander leaves are called “cilantro”, a Spanish name for the plant, and “coriander” refers to the seeds. However, both come from the same plant, Coriandrum sativum. In the rest of the English-speaking world, cilantro is called “coriander leaf”.
Both leaves and seeds are distilled to obtain essential oil, however each of them is quite different in its chemical make-up, and therefore properties. While coriander seed oil is one of the safest and most useful essential oils for skin care use (antifungal, anti-inflammatory), there are no established therapeutic uses for cilantro oil. However, it is toxic to the larvae of Aedes egypti (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21692682) a type of mosquito which spreads yellow fever, dengue fever and zika virus.
Note: There is one research study that found a probable effect for chelating a heavy metal (lead) from cilantro (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11535365). However, an aqueous extract was used, which would contain flavonoids and ascorbic acid, both potential chelating agents. Chelating agents require two of the same functional group in the molecule, and no essential oil constituents fit this requirement, including cilantro oil. Therefore, cilantro oil is not a chelating agent.