petroselinum crispum

Parsley is a biennial herb up to 80 cm long, hairless, with thin stems and triangular outline leaves two to three times pinnate, the upper leaves have entire leaflets and the basal ones serrated or toothed. The flowers grouped in umbels of 8-20 radios are yellowish green. The fruits are subglobose or ovoid, aromatic, with five ribs equal.

The parts used are the entire plant: leaves, fruits and roots.

It is native to the Mediterranean region but now cultivated worldwide.

Fruits, leaves:
It has a diuretic action due to flavonoids, essential oil and potassium salts.The apiol is appetizer, digestive, antispasmodic, emmenagogue, vasoprotective and vasodilatory, all of which is enhanced by the presence of the myristicin.It has tonic, remineralizing and anti-anemic properties due to its content of vitamins and minerals.

Roots:The roots diuretic action is softer than the fruits action.It is indicated in cases of anemia, convalescence, poor appetite, hyposecretion dyspepsia, flatulence. When is required an increase in urine output: urinary disorders (cystitis, ureteritis, urethritis, oliguria, urolithiasis). Is a palliative in cases of gout, hypertension, edema, and obesity accompanied with fluid retention. Amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea. The chewed leaves are used to fight halitosis. The phototoxicity of furocoumarins, may be applicable for hypopigmentation dermatological diseases such as vitiligo.