MEDICINAL USES:
The seeds and root are both calming to the digestive tract, and used for nausea, gas and indigestion. The fresh root and leaves, however, when placed in contact with the skin, irritate and inflame it. These irritant properties decrease greatly when the plant is dried.
It strengthens the pulse and increases capillary circulation, and is believed by some to especially stimulate circulation along the spinal cord.
In the past, it has been used with apparent success in treating in epilepsy and convulsions from other causes. It has also been used (both as a tea and as a bath) to stimulate recovery from spinal cord injury and paralysis. The seed tincture has been used for nausea and as an analgesic for toothaches.
Bella Coola First Nations used a piece of fresh Cow Parsnip to clean pus from boils. The method was to insert a piece of whole, fresh root into an opened boil and leave it for half a day to a day. On removal, the piece of root would bring the pus and any remaining infection with it.
The dosage is not particularly fixed although it usually ranges from 5 to 60 drops of the tincture
OTHER USES: Cow Parsnip is a native food plant that is still widely used today. The young stalks especially are a favourite, eaten with the fibrous outer layer stripped off. Apparently, the flower stem is the best part. The young leaves make a novel salad green and the can be roots boiled or roasted. The shelled seeds are added to salads in the same manner as pumpkin seeds. All parts of the plant have a distinctive acrid, musty odour that many find repulsive. This diminishes with cooking, but never completely disappears. The stems and leaves (or their ashes) can be used as a salt substitute.