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Parsley

Hand-drawn image of parsley
This image of Parsley comes from the 1633 edition of John Gerard’s The Herball, first published in 1579.  This book is available in the John R. Martin Rare Book Room in the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences.  

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

Petroselinum crispum, known commonly as Parsley, is a culinary herb and salad vegetable native to the Mediterranean region. Its roots and leaves have also been used in traditional medicine, with its roots used for for kidney and liver problems, digestive disorders, menstrual irregularities, and detoxification (Schröder et al., 2017). Parsley leaves and stems contain a substantial amount of vitamin C and are also a good source of calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, and folic acid (Mahmood, Hussain, & Malik, 2014).  According to a recent study the regular addition of Parsley in the daily diet either as food or a supplement can help strengthen the antioxidant systems of the body and reduce the effects of free radical-induced carcinogenesis, cancer and subsequent metastasis caused by prolonged and excessive oxidative stress (Tang, Rajarajeswaran, Fung, & Kanthimathi, 2015).  

Historical Use

This passage on the uses of Parsley comes from the 1633 edition of John Gerard’s The Herball, first published in 1579.  This book is available in the John R. Martin Rare Book Room in the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences.  

According to the 1633 edition of The Herball, written by John Gerard and first published in 1579, Parsley was used in a number of applications. It was used as a diuretic and to help passage of kidney stones, as well as an aid in menstruation and childbirth.

Latest Research

References

Mahmood, S., Hussain, S., & Malik, F. (2014). Critique of medicinal conspicuousness of Parsley (Petroselinum crispum): a culinary herb of Mediterranean region. Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 27(1), 193-202.  

Schröder, L., Koch, J., Mahner, S., Kost, B. P., Hofmann, S., Jeschke, U., . . . Richter, D. U. (2017). The Effects of Petroselinum Crispum on Estrogen Receptor-positive Benign and Malignant Mammary Cells (MCF12A/MCF7). Anticancer Research, 37(1), 95-102. doi:10.21873/anticanres.11294 

Tang, E. L., Rajarajeswaran, J., Fung, S., & Kanthimathi, M. S. (2015). Petroselinum crispum has antioxidant properties, protects against DNA damage and inhibits proliferation and migration of cancer cells. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 95(13), 2763-2771. doi:10.1002/jsfa.7078