Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

More than just a Garnish

Family: Umbelliferae; (include Carrot, Celery, Fennel, Dill, Angelica)

Genus and Species: Petroselinum Crispum, P. Hortense, P. Sativum

Also known as: Rock Selinon

Parts used: Leaves, fruits (”seeds”), roots

Few herbs are more familiar than parsley. Its lacy sprigs typically adorn restaurant plates-and usually remain uneaten. This is unfortunate, for parsley is nutritious and an effective after-dinner breath freshener. Medicinally, however, this herb is controversial. In The New Honest Herbal, Yarra Tyler, ph.D., dismisses it as “essentially worthless.” But in the German medical text Herbal Medicine, Rudolph Fritz Weiss, M.D., calls it “a major medicinal plant.”

Rich in Symbolism

Parsley is one of the first herbs to appear in spring, and it has been used for centuries in the Seder, the ritual Jewish Passover meal, as a symbol of new beginnings.

The ancient Greeks, however, saw the herb differently. In Greek mythology, parsley sprang from the blood of Opheltes, infant son of King Lycurgus of Nemea, who was killed by a serpent while his nanny directed some thirsty soldiers to a spring. For centuries, Greek soldiers believed any contact with parsley before battle signaled impending death.

Because of its association with death, parsley was planted on Greek graves. Ironically, this custom led to its rehabilitation. To honor the memory of important figures, the Greeks held athletic contests and crowned the winners with parsley wreaths. Over a few centuries, the herb came to symbolize strength.

But the shadow of bad luck clung to the herb well into the Middle Ages, when some Europeans considered it a Devil’s herb, sure to bring disaster upon those who grew it-unless they planted it on Good Friday.

Garnish at Roman Feasts

Parsley was not widely used in ancient medicine, but the Roman physician Galen prescribed it for “falling sickness” (epilepsy) and as a diuretic to treat water retention. The Romans also munched sprigs at banquets to freshen their breath-the origin of the parsley garnish on restaurant plates today.

Medieval German abbess/herbalist Hildegard of Bingen prescribed parsley compresses for arthritis and parsley boiled in wine for chest and heart pain.

Seventeenth-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper reiterated Galen’s recommendations and added to them, pre .. scribing parsley to “provoke urine and women’s courses [menstruation I … to expel wind … to break the stone I kidney stones] and ease the pains and torments thereof … and against cough” Culpeper also recommended parsley compresses for inflamed eyes and black-and-blue marks and suggested the herb “fried with butter and applied to [the] breasts” for nipple soreness as a result of nursing.

Parsley Uses in America

From the 1850s through 1926, parsley was recognized by the United States Pharmacopoeia as a laxative, a diuretic for kidney problems and fluid accumulation due to congestive heart failure, and as a substitute for quinine to treat malaria.

The Eclectic text, King’s American Dispensatory, echoed the Pharmacopoeia and chronicled the 1855 isolation of a chemical (apiol) from parsley oil, which it recommended for “menstrual derangements,” though high doses caused “intoxication, giddiness, flashes of light, vertigo, and ringing in the ears [tinnitus].”

During the early 20th century, large doses of apiol were used to induce abortion, despite its considerable toxicity.

Contemporary herbalists recommend parsley in cooking as a rich source of vitamins A and C. They suggest the fresh herb as a breath freshener and the infusion or tincture as a diuretic, digestive aid, and gas expeller.

Parsley root, leaves, and fruit (seeds) all contain the volatile oil. but it is most concentrated in the seeds. Parsley oil contains two major chemicals (apiol and myristicin) with mild laxative and significant diuretic action.

High Blood Pressure - Physicians often prescribe diuretics to treat this condition, and a published study in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine suggests parsley’s diuretic action can help control it. In Germany, where herbal medicine is more mainstream than it is in the United States, parsley seed tea is widely prescribed as a diuretic to treat high blood pressure. Further study is needed to determine if parsley does indeed help in the treatment of high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is a serious health problem requiring professional care. If you’d like to include parsley in your overall treatment plan, do so only with the approval of your physician.

Diuretics deplete the body of potassium, an essential nutrient. If you use medicinal parsley preparations frequently, be sure to eat foods high in potassium, such as bananas and fresh vegetables.

Pregnant and nursing women should avoid diuretics. Congestive Heart Failure. Physicians often prescribe diuretics to combat the fluid accumulation involved in this condition. Heart failure demands professional care. If you’d like to include parsley in your overall treatment plan, do so with the approval and supervision of your physician.

Breath Freshener - Parsley also contains one of the highest levels of chlorophyll of any herb. Chlorophyll is the active ingredient in many breath fresheners (Clorets). thus supporting a use of parsley dating back to Roman times.

Women’s Health - Both apiol and myristicin are uterine stimulants. In the former Soviet Union, a preparation called Supetin, which contains 85 percent parsley juice, is used to stimulate uterine contractions during labor.

Pregnant women may eat culinary amounts of parsley, but they should not take medicinal preparations, except at term and under the supervision of a physician to help induce labor. Other women might try some parsley tea to bring on their periods.

Diuretics help relieve the bloated feeling caused by premenstrual fluid buildup. Women bothered by PMS might want to try some parsley during their premenstrual days.

Allergies - A study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology shows parsley inhibits the secretion of histamine, a chemical the body produces that triggers allergy symptoms. Parsley’s apparent antihistamine action might help those with hay fever or hives.

Fever - Parsley has never been proven effective against malaria, so the Pharmacopoeia was incorrect on that score. But apiol has some fever-reducing (antipyretic) properties. Don’t count on parsley to take the place of aspirin, but you may want to try it in addition to standard medications.

Intriguing Possibility - Parsley contains psoralen, a chemical best known for inducing photosensitivity. But psoralen shows promise in the treatment of one form of cancer, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Although it’s premature to believe that parsley can be used to treat cancer, testing this herb against cancer is certainly warranted.

Rx for Parsley

To freshen breath, a few sprigs of fresh parsley usually suffice. For a pleasant-tasting infusion that may help in the management of high blood pressure, heart failure, allergies, fever, or to induce labor, use 2 teaspoons of dried leaves or root, or 1 teaspoon of bruised seeds per cup of boiling water. Steep 10 minutes. Drink up to 3 cups a day.

In a tincture, take ½ to 1 teaspoon up to three times a day.

Medicinal doses of parsley should not be given to children under age 2. For older children and people over65, start with low-strength preparations and increase strength if necessary.

The psoralen in parsley has been known to cause skin rash in agricultural workers who harvest large quantities. Those with sensitive skin should be aware of this possibility.

The Eclectics were right about high doses of parsley oil causing headache, nausea, vertigo, giddiness, hives, and liver and kidney damage. But the medical literature contains no reports of problems from the herb itself.

Other Cautions

Parsley’s potential diuretic action should not be used to promote weight loss. Some diet programs tout diuretics to eliminate water weight. But weight-control authorities discourage diuretics. Weight lost using diuretics almost invariably returns. The key to permanent weight control is a low-fat, high-fiber diet and regular aerobic exercise.

For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, parsley is generally safe in amounts typically recommended.

If symptoms of toxicity develop, use less or stop using it.

Let your doctor know if you experience any unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve significantly in two weeks.

Growing Healing Garnishes

Parsley is a small, bright green biennial that reaches 12 inches the first year and up to 3 feet the second year, when it flowers. Parsley has a thick carrot-like taproot and juicy stems terminating in feathery, deeply divided, curly or flat leaves, depending on the variety. Its tiny yellow-green flowers develop on the umbrella-like canopy (umbels) characteristic of the Umbelliferae.

Although it’s a biennial, parsley should be cultivated as an annual. The seeds are slow to germinate, often requiring up to six weeks. Sow anytime from early spring to autumn. Parsley can be sown indoors and transplanted, but most authorities recommend outdoor planting with ¼ inch of soil cover.

Parsley grows best in moist, sandy, well-drained loam with a neutral pH. Thin seedlings to 8-inch spacing. Late-season planting is fine. The herb-even seedlings-usually survives one or two frosts.

Leaves may be harvested once plants have reached about eight inches. Fruits are harvested when they appear full-size and gray-brown. Dig the roots during the autumn of the first year or the spring of the second.

Looks like Hemlock

Alert: Unless you are an experienced field botanist, do not pick wild parsley. It closely resembles three potentially lethal plants: water hemlock, poison parsley (also known as poison hemlock), and fool’s parsley (dog parsley, small hemlock).