Petroselinum Sativum (Garden Parsley)

Family: Umbelliferae
Common Names: Garden Parsley, Parsley, Rock Parsley
Habitat: Native to southern Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia, though now cultivated worldwide.

Description:

Parsley is a biennial herb featuring smooth, branched, bright green stems. Its dark green, glossy leaves are bi- or triternately divided, giving them a delicate, feathery appearance. Small, yellowish-green flowers bloom in compound umbels from June to August, producing egg-shaped, grayish-brown seeds.

Parts Used:

• Root

• Leaves

Historical Background:

Though now grown globally as a culinary herb, parsley originated in Europe. Traditionally, its root was considered the most medicinally significant part. French chemists once extracted an essential oil called Apiol from parsley seeds, which was valued as a substitute for quinine in treating intermittent fevers and as an aid in childbirth in place of ergot.

Therapeutic Uses:

Diuretic Action:

• Highly effective in relieving dropsy (fluid retention), particularly after scarlatina and other exanthematous (skin-eruption) diseases.

• Frequently prescribed for urinary retention, strangury (painful, frequent urination), and gonorrhoea.

Anti-inflammatory and Carminative Uses:

• Seeds possess carminative properties, aiding digestion and easing intestinal gas.

• Historically used to treat scalp infestations (lice/parasites).

Topical Applications:

• Bruised leaves are applied externally for contusions, swollen glands, and inflamed breasts.

• Traditional remedy among wet nurses to help "dry up" breast milk when weaning.

Urinary Health:

• Notable for its action on the urinary system, parsley is beneficial in treating:

  • Itching piles with pronounced irritation.

  • Burning and tingling sensations from the perineum throughout the entire urethra.

  • Sudden, urgent urges to urinate, sometimes accompanied by intense itching deep in the urethra.

  • Gonorrhoea with profuse milky discharge.

  • Voluptuous tickling in the urethral fossa navicularis, leading to frequent urination.

Key Therapeutic Properties:

• Diuretic

• Carminative

• Anti-inflammatory

• Antimicrobial

• Uro-genital tonic