Aging is a common problem faced by many societies around the world, and in Taiwan and Japan, issues around aging are pressing more than ever.

The health problems caused by aging also lead to the resource burden derived from long-term care, of which dementia constitutes the largest need for care with no effective drug treatment at the moment, and researchers are in search of ways to prevent aging related cognitive dysfunction, nutritional supplements, and effective dietary patterns.

Coriander as a natural spice for both medicinal and culinary use is low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and rich in dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is also rich in polyphenols and is a powerful antioxidant. Taiwan produces an abundance of coriander each year, while in Japan, coriander is representative of healthy vegetables. The academia and industry have jointly established the Japanese Coriander Society, which focuses on coriander-related research, including the methods of planting, eating and processing coriander, and its functional development.

In 2018, Professor Yang Suh-Ching (楊素卿) from TMU’s School of Nutrition and Health Sciences began an international joint research with Professor Yasuo Watanabe, president of the Japanese Coriander Society and director of General Health Medical Center of Yokohama University of Pharmacy, on “Evaluating the Effects of Coriander in Improving Cognitive Dysfunction in Aging.” Using SAMP8 aging mice as the animal model, the research team found that, with alcohol extraction, the extract from coriander seeds can improve the antioxidant capacity of the prefrontal lobe of the aging mice and delay memory and learning ability decline. The research teams in Taiwan and Japan jointly published a paper and were invited to share their research findings with the wider scholarly community, which is the demonstration of successful international research collaboration between both parties.