Petroselini herba

Petroselini herba or radix, also called parsley herb or parsley root, is a drug used in herbal medicines for the prevention of kidney gravel and as part of a flushing therapy in diseases of the draining urinary tract.

Commission e-monograph: irrigation in diseases of the urinary tract; renal gravel.

Parsley contains flavonoids (1,9 to 5,6 %): apiin, luteolin and chrysoeriol derivatives. Other ingredients are essential oil (1.2%); myristicin (usually the main component), apiol and elemicin at concentrations up to 90%; coumarin, bergapten, 1% chlorophyll, xanthotoxin, psoralen, imperatorin and isopimpinellin.

The root contains the following ingredients: flavonoids (0.2 to 1.3%), about 0.1% essential oil, (main components apiol, beta-pinene and myristicin), small amounts of coumarin, oxypeucedanine, bergapten (less than 10 ppm) and imperatorin.

Furthermore, both the root and the herb contain polyins and terpenes.

Petroselini herba or radix is used for the prevention of renal gravel and as part of a flushing therapy for diseases of the urinary tract.

The daily dosage is 6 g of the drug.

In rare cases an allergic skin or mucous membrane reaction may occur. In addition, light-skinned persons may experience phototoxic reactions caused by furanocoumarins.

It should not be taken during pregnancy, in the case of existing inflammatory kidney diseases or in the case of oedema due to restricted heart or kidney activity.

There are no known interactions with other drugs.

During a flushing therapy, care must be taken to ensure a sufficient fluid intake of 2L/day.

The distilled oil of the root is no longer used for toxicological reasons (negative monogrpahy of Commission E). This also applies to the pure apiol-rich (see below apiol) essential parsley fruit oil (Oleum Petroselini).

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