The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome has reached epidemic levels globally. The rising incidence of diabetes and metabolic syndrome has been attributed to a sedentary lifestyle and the adoption of high energy diets that are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, and contain excessive amount of omega-6 fatty acids. Coriander seeds, commonly used for culinary purposes, are rich in essential oils and have established hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects in the obese and diabetics. We investigated the effects of dietary 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 mgkg-1 body mass) suspended in gelatine cubes. After five weeks, there were no significant differences in body mass gain, plasma free fatty acids, blood glucose and triglyceride concentrations of the rats from the two dietary groups (p > 0.05; t-test). Blood for the determination of circulating metabolites was collected by cardiac puncture under anaesthesia with sodium pentobarbitone. Whilst dietary supplementation with coriander did not affect the lipid content of the liver, however it significantly increased the amount of monounsaturated (MUFA) (22.62 ± 6.48%) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) (54.89 ± 5.10%) fatty acids in the visceral adipose tissue where it also decreased the saturated fatty acid content (p < 0.05; t-test). The physiological significance of the effect of coriander on MUFA and PUFA storage in visceral fat, but not in the liver, needs further investigation. The lower ratio omega 6: omega 3 in the visceral adipose tissue may explain some of the health benefits of coriander. These data suggest that dietary coriander supplementation may have beneficial effects on visceral adipose tissue lipid metabolism in healthy subjects.