The Greeks already used parsley as medicine for its smooth estrogenic activity and its content of miriticina, which has narcotic and psychomimetic properties. Nevertheless, it was not cultivated for cooking until in the Roman times.

The parsley is rich in iron, potassium and vitamins A and C; nevertheless, it is consumed in small quantities, so it is not the best source of these compounds.
There is a special variety, very popular in Germany, that is cooked as a vegetable or used as seasoning, but it is never consumed raw.

All the plant has therapeutic properties. Thus, for instance, the stems have diuretic effects whereas the fruit helps to regularise the menstruation.

The parsley is also useful to whet the appetite, to ease the gall bladder colic and is very effective in plasters to cure bruises, insect bites, etc.