Oregano vs. Parsley — Health Impact and Nutrition Comparison

Introduction

Herbs and spices are a perfect way to add a range of flavors to any dish. Both parsley and oregano are ideal herbs and spices.

Parsley belongs to the Umbelliferae family, also known as the carrot or celery family. On the other hand, oregano is botanically classified in the family of mints. Oregano owes its flavor to compounds such as thymol, carvacrol, ocimene, pinene, limonene, and caryophyllene.

In this article, we are going to compare parsley and oregano, focusing on their nutritional differences and health impacts.

Nutritional Content

Parsley is richer in vitamins C, K, and A. On the other hand, oregano contains higher amounts of vitamins E, B complex (B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6), and folate.

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Oregano

8

Parsley

3

Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E	+2334.7%
Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1	+105.8%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2	+438.8%
Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3	+253.4%
Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5	+130.3%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6	+1060%
Contains more FolateFolate	+55.9%
Contains more CholineCholine	+152.3%

Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C	+5682.6%
Contains more Vitamin AVitamin A	+395.2%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K	+163.8%

~equal in Vitamin D ~0µg

~equal in Vitamin B12 ~0µg

When comparing their mineral profile, oregano is richer in phosphorus, iron, calcium, zinc, copper, magnesium, and potassium.

While both of these plants are low in sodium, oregano contains less.

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Oregano

10

Parsley

0

Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium	+440%
Contains more CalciumCalcium	+1057.2%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium	+127.4%
Contains more IronIron	+493.5%
Contains more CopperCopper	+324.8%
Contains more ZincZinc	+151.4%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus	+155.2%
Contains less SodiumSodium	-55.4%
Contains more ManganeseManganese	+3018.8%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium	+4400%

Health Impact

Myricetin, a flavonoid found in parsley, helps prevent skin cancer (1).

Parsley can also decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (2).

One study has shown the antiviral potential of oregano against norovirus infections (3).

Generally, parsley and oregano have protective roles against the following:

• Cancer prevention (1, 4)
• Antibacterial properties (5, 6)
• Anti-inflammatory properties (7, 8)
• Bone health improvement

Parsley has antiosteoporotic effects on bone tissue (9).

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5629766/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16223573/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24779581/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6680447/
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27525894/
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6152729/
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5322505/
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5801825/
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4891838/
10. https://cloudfront.net/87763441/6-IJCBS
11. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf802298w
12. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11849841/
13. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11094-023-02795-3
14. https://phcog.com/article/view/2018/14/57s/s363-s368
15. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278691510001754