Omnia SanaSymptom → Plant Sources
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) and Detox / cleansing: evidence and sources
inferred from hepatoprotective action
For educational purposes only, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified practitioner before using medicinal plants, especially alongside prescribed medication, during pregnancy, or for a serious condition.
Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss (parsley) is a popular medicinal plant widely used in different traditional medicines all over the world. This paper provides an updated review on the traditional use, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activities of parsley. Parsley contains volatile compounds such as terpenes and terpenoids in the essential oil, as well as phenolic compounds in the plant extract. Parsley is traditionally used as a diuretic, liver and stomach tonic, and for urolithiasis and indigestion. Pharmacological investigations also confirm several biological activities of parsley including hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, antiurolithiatic, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, and antineoplastic effects in animal and cell-based studies. Parsley has currently demonstrated several pharmacological activities in preclinical studies; however, there is a big lack in clinical evidence. Considering parsley as a possible valuable medicinal food, future clinical trials are recommended to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of the plant in different health conditions.
WHO estimates, around 80% of the especially developing world is indigent on complementary and alternative medicines which are prodigiously derived from herbal material. Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is an important culinary herb originated from the Mediterranean region. It possesses small and dark seeds with volatile oil content. Petroselinum crispum is now planted throughout the world due to its usage in food industry, perfume manufacturing, soaps, and creams. Its main constituents subsume coumarins, furanocoumarins (bergapten, imperatori), ascorbic acid, carotenoids, flavonoids, apiole, various terpenoic compounds, phenyl propanoids, phathalides, and tocopherol. Due to these constituents, it has been annunciated to possess a number of possible medicinal emblematics including, antimicrobial, antianemic, menorrhagic, anticoagulant, antihyperlipidemic, antihepatotoxic, antihypertensive, diuretic effects, hypoglycaemic, hypouricemic, anti oxidative and estrogenic activities. In Morocco, Parsley is mostly used as an elixir to treat arterial hypertension, diabetes, cardiac and renal diseases. Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of parsley, made it propitious in food systems. Its ELI17 gene has been corroborated as a particularly fast-responding gene. There is a requisite for extensive research to avail the maximal benefits of this significant medicinal plant. The aim of this review paper is to divulge the chemical constituents of parsley that are explicitly related to substantial medicinal facets.
2 sources supporting Parsley for Detox / cleansing. Includes scientific publications, books, monographs and traditional-use references.
Mechanistic basis
This use is associated with the plant's hepatoprotective (liver support) action. Further evidence for that pharmacology:
Background and study aims This study aimed to investigate the possible protective effects of parsley extract (Petroselinum Crispum; PC) against oxidative liver damage caused by bile obstruction in rats. Material and methods Bile duct ligation (BDL) method was used to induce liver injury in rats. The rats were divided into the three groups each consisting of 8 rats; Sham-operated control (C), bile duct ligated + saline treated (BDL), and BDL + PC treated groups. PC extract was given at a dose of 2 g/kg orally for 28 days. Aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanin amino transferase (ALT), and bilirubin levels were analyzed in sera. In order to determine free radicals in liver injury, luminol and lucigenin chemiluminescence tests used. Oxidative stress was evaluated through superoxide dismutase, glutathione, malondialdehyde, Na + /K + -ATPase and 8-hydroxy guanosine levels. Furthermore, inflammation marker myeloperoxidase, apoptosis marker caspase-3, and fibrosis markers TGF- β and hydoxyproline were investigated. The liver tissues were also examined for histological evaluations. Results While PC treatment decreased AST and ALT levels which increased with BDL, oxidant damage parameters also decreased with this treatment. Conclusion The present study, which is the first research for PC extract on cholestasis induced liver damage, demonstrated that PC extract could be a potential therapeutic agent against liver fibrosis and need further studies.
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is one of the medicinal herbs used by diabetics in Turkey. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of parsley (2g/kg) and glibornuride (5mg/kg) on the liver tissue of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Swiss albino rats were divided into six groups: control; control+parsley; control+glibornuride; diabetic; diabetic+parsley; diabetic+glibornuride. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 65 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). Parsley extract and glibornuride were given daily to both diabetic and control rats separately, until the end of the experiment, at day 42. The drugs were administered to one diabetic and one control group from days 14 to 42. On day 42, liver tissues were taken from each rat. In STZ-diabetic group, blood glucose levels, serum alkaline phosphatase activity, uric acid, sialic acid, sodium and potassium levels, liver lipid peroxidation (LPO), and non-enzymatic glycosylation (NEG) levels increased, while liver glutathione (GSH) levels and body weight decreased. In the diabetic group given parsley, blood glucose, serum alkaline phosphatase activity, sialic acid, uric acid, potassium and sodium levels, and liver LPO and NEG levels decreased, but GSH levels increased. The diabetic group, given glibornuride, blood glucose, serum alkaline phosphatase activity, serum sialic acid, uric acid, potassium, and liver NEG levels decreased, but liver LPO, GSH, serum sodium levels, and body weight increased. It was concluded that probably, due to its antioxidant property, parsley extract has a protective effect comparable to glibornuride against hepatotoxicity caused by diabetes.
Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease and ongoing research efforts are focused on understanding the underlying pathophysiology of hepatic steatosis with the anticipation that these efforts will identify novel therapeutic targets. This study investigated the Petroselinum crispum extract in hepatic steatosis in rats fed with fructose enriched diet. Rats were divided into the 4 groups: Group 1 rats received standard pellet diet with corn starch for the entire experimental period of 8 weeks. Group 2 rats received standard pellet diet and 2 gm/kg body weight crude Parsley leaf ethanol extract for the entire experimental period of 8 weeks. Group 3 rats received modified fructose diet. Group 4 rats received modified fructose diet and 2gm/kg crude Parsley leaf ethanol extract. Hepatic function and structure was evaluated in these rats. Modified fructose diet produced dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis and infiltration of inflammatory cells in the liver and higher plasma hepatic markers. Petroselinum crispum extract reversed metabolic changes such as abnormal crispum extract attenuated chronic changes in modified fructose diet induced NAFLD (Tab. 2, Fig. 3, Ref. 43).