Is it true that parsley is toxic?

Parsley is a popular aromatic plant in the universal kitchen that, surprisingly, has been named as poisonous plant of the year by the Wandsbek Special Botanical Garden, in Hamburg (Germany). Those responsible for this garden have been awarding the prize to the toxic plant for 19 years, which last year went to another popular food: the potato. This year, 2023, parsley has slipped ahead of other plants such as oleander and poppies. But don’t worry, he parsley is only really harmful if used incorrectly.

Is parsley healthy or is it toxic?

Parsley is healthy, among other things, because provides an extraordinary amount of vitamin C, which strengthens the immune system. It also contains vitamin K, essential for blood clotting and good bone condition, and iron, a trace element essential for the transport of oxygen.

Fortunately, you don’t have to do without these nutrients in parsley, because eating parsley leaves is completely harmless, as explained by the botanists of the Wandsbek Garden. You can eat them in the amount you want, even in the delicious tabbouleh salad, where they are the main ingredient.

Parsley it was awarded the title of “Poisonous Plant of the Year 2023” for its flowers and seeds. As a biennial plant, parsley forms a rosette in the first year, from which flower stalks up to 70 centimeters tall develop in the second year.

The inconspicuous greenish-yellow flowers are arranged in umbels and form seeds. These seeds are not suitable for consumption because they contain high concentrations of two toxic compounds, apiol and myristicin.

These substances are found in all parts of the plant, also in the leaves, but in such a small proportion that it does not produce negative effects on human health. The World Health Organization has concluded that when you eat parsley you are consuming a dose 10,000 times less than the toxic one. Of course, the amount is enough to provide its characteristic aroma. However, the dose present in the seeds means that they can be harmful.

What damage can parsley seeds cause?

Apiol can act on the smooth muscle fibers of the bladder, intestines, and uterus. It must be borne in mind that parsley oil was used in the past for abortifacient purposes. For women who used this oil, however, an overdose of the oil could be fatal. In large quantities, it can be carcinogenic.

Therefore, consuming parsley leaves in normal amounts at home is not only harmless but also healthy due to the many beneficial nutrients the plant contains.

If you have a parsley plant at home, you can take the precaution of not eating the leaves from when they begins to bloom until some time after the flowers have faded, because in this period the apiol content in the leaves and stems increases.

If you accidentally eat parsley seeds and begin to notice symptoms of poisoning, such as cramps, you must seek medical attention immediately.

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