Petroselinum Sativum commonly known as Parsley, has some proven qualities that can be used to help with certain ailments, such as soothing muscles, increasing sexual prowess and treating hemorrhoids, kidney and bladder stones.
Parsley will grow anywhere with a temperate climate, but is native to Greece. The Greeks recognized early on that this pretty curly green herb carried important aromatherapeutic medicinal properties.
The inclusion of the word ‘sativum’ in the botanical name reveals to us that this herb has been a culinary herb for centuries.
This essential oil comes from mainly the leaves and seeds that are richer in oil than any other part of the plant and sometimes taken from the roots. The principle constituent is ‘apiol’, often referred to as Parsley Camphor. The oil is very think with an aroma that is close to the smell of fresh parsley. The color of the oil ranges from colorless to a green-yellow appearance.
Parsley Oil is a mild stimulant that helps to dispel and reduce fever and has a tonic effect on smoothing muscles, especially muscles around the reproductive system. It is also used as a uterine tonic sometimes used to aid labour in child birth.
The tonic in this oil has also proved successful in its effect on blood vessels and used externally in the treatment of piles (hemorrhoids). When applied to bruises it helps to reduce broken blood-vessels immediately under the skin, reducing the amount of blood seeping into the surrounding tissues.
Using Parsley as a diuretic medicine helps in the treatment of urinary tract problems and in particular kidney and bladder stones.
Parsley Oil has also been used to treat tumors, insect bites, lice and injured skin tissue with bruised leaves.
Be careful if you ever choose to gather wild parsley because in general its leaves and flowers are similar to three common poisonous plants:- Aethusa Cynapium (fool’s parsley) which has a shiny yellow green underside of the leaves different from parsley that has a dull appearance and the white flowers are yellowish in parsley. You should also be cautious of the Water Hemlock (Cicuta Maculata) and Conium Maculatum (poison hemlock), these are much larger plants than the common parsley plant.