Parsnip

Herbaceous, up to 1 m tall, deep-rooted plant with a furrowed stem, pinnate leaves and pale yellow flowers, as well as 3-7 mm long split fruits. Flowering time: July to September, fruit ripening: October.

Uses: Food, not phytotherapeutic.

HMPC: Not processed

ESCOP: Not processed

Commission E: Not processed

Empirical medicine: Headache, fever. Externally for stomatitis, ophthalmitis, dermatitis

Food: The root is cooked as a root vegetable in soups, popular as a porridge for babies due to its low nitrite content. The leaves are used as a seasoning herb.

Furocoumarins, bergapten, xanthotoxin, imperatorin, isoimperatorin, angelicin, isopimpinellin, sphondin, and apterin.

1. Montag A (2023) Plants and Skin. Springer-Verlag GmbH. pp. 791–794

2. Kaye J et al. (1980) DNA repair in human cells containing photoadducts of 8-methoxypsoralen or angelicin. Cancer Res 40:696–702.