PARSLEY
Petroselinum crispum
COMMON NAMES: Parsley breakstone, garden parsley, rock parsley.
FEATURES: Parsley belongs to a small genus of the Mediterranean plant family Umbelliferae, cultivated
since antiquity and now grown in various forms in all of the civilized world. Parsley is a many-branched,
bright green, smooth-stemmed, biennial herb with ternately pinnate decompound, sometimes crisp, leaves;
greenish yellow flowers. The root is the official part. French chemists have succeeded in obtaining an
essential oil named apiol that has proved a good replacement for quinia in intermittent fever and for ergot
as a parturient.
MEDICINAL PARTS: Leaves, roots, seeds.
SOLVENTS: Leaves and powder in water, oil in alcohol.
BODILY INFLUENCE: Diuretic, aperient, expectorant.
USES: Is chiefly used for renal congestion, inflammation of the kidney and bladder, for gravel, stones, and
urine retention, the culprit of many malfunctions. The root or leaves are excellent for the liver and spleen
when jaundice and venereal diseases are present. Also useful in epilepsy. A worthy ingredient, combined
with other herbs such as buchu (Borosma), black haw (Viburnum prunifolium), crampbark (Viburnum
opulus), for female troubles. Drink as much as 3 cupfuls a day.
Parsley is high in vitamin B and potassium, a substance in which cancerous cells cannot multiply.
Should be considered among the preventive herbs. The seeds contain apiol, which is condidered a safe
and efficient emmenagogue and is used in amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea. Of assistance in intermittent
fever or agues.
DOSE: Of the oil, for diuretic purposes, 3–4 drops a day. Of the infusion, 2–4 cupfuls.
EXTERNALLY: Often the bruised leaves are applied to swollen glands and swollen breasts to dry up milk.
Hot fomentations wrung out of the tea will relieve insect bites and stings.
HOMEOPATHIC CLINICAL: Tincture of whole fresh plant when coming into bloom for catheter fever,
cystitis, dysuria, gleet, gonorrhea, gravel, intermittent fever, night blindness, priapism.
RUSSIAN EXPERIENCE: Petrushka, parsley, a common vegetable in all gardens, is used as food and home
medicine. Preparations of tea and decoctions from the root, leaves, and seeds are administered for
dropsy, kidney and bladder, female corrective, indigestion, liver and spleen ailments, prostatitis.
Externally: The fresh juice is used as a nontoxic insect repellent in the summertime.