Herb library · Spice · Petroselinum crispum
Parsley
A kitchen herb eaten in salads and sauces the world over, and an old diuretic in European medicine. As a food it is generally recognized as safe; the concentrated seed extract apiol, once taken in large doses to end pregnancies, has killed people.
Traditional use
Parsley leaf, root and seed were European remedies to increase urine and bring on menstruation; Culpeper counted the root among the five opening roots. Mothers have laid warm parsley compresses on engorged breasts, and some in Türkiye use it hoping to make more milk. In Saudi Arabia many people use it for kidney stones. Apiol, an oil from the seed, was sold in the 1800s and 1900s for fevers and for menstrual problems.
What studies show
- Insufficient
Kidney and urinary health: a 2024 review found animal studies and only limited human studies, with modest changes in urine composition, and called for proper clinical trials. A 2024 survey found that 38% of 1,014 people in Saudi Arabia had used parsley for kidney stones, with no trial behind it.
- Insufficient
Breastfeeding and milk supply: LactMed says no valid clinical trials support claims that parsley lowers or raises milk supply, and no data exist on its safety or usefulness in nursing mothers or infants.
Be careful of
Cautions
- AmountParsley as food is generally recognized as safe by the FDA. The essential oil is a different thing: LactMed says it should not be used because of the possible toxicity of its apiol and myristicin.
- PregnancyApiol, a concentrated extract of parsley seed, was taken in large doses to end pregnancies, and doctors reported deaths from it (Lancet, 1956). Keep parsley to food amounts in pregnancy; no source used here gives a safe amount of seed, oil or extract.
- PregnancyBreastfeeding: LactMed has no data on parsley's passage into breast milk or its safety for nursing infants.
- AllergyReactions are mostly allergic, including cross-reactions with other plants of the carrot family such as carrot, celery and fennel (LactMed).
- InteractionA 2024 laboratory study found that apiole blocks CYP1A, liver enzymes that break down some medicines; whether this matters in people is not known.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“Galen commended it against the falling sickness, and to provoke urine mightily, especially if the roots be boiled, and eaten like parsnips.”
“In doses of from 7 to 15 grains apiol occasions a cerebral excitement similar to that caused by coffee, a sensation of vigor and composure, and warmth about the stomach; in doses of from 30 to 60 grains it causes intoxication, giddiness, flashes of light, vertigo and ringing in the ears, etc.”
Sources
- Parsley — Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Renal health benefits and therapeutic effects of parsley (Petroselinum crispum): a review (Front Med, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Utilization of barley and parsley for the management of urolithiasis among the Saudi Arabian population (Urol Ann, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Death from apiol used as abortifacient (Lancet, 1956) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Apiol poisoning (Can Med Assoc J, 1958) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Apiole, an important constituent of parsley, is a mixed-type inhibitor of the CYP1A subfamily (Mutat Res, 2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.