If you leave off the peanut butter and salad dressing, celery is a crisp, nutritious, low-fat, high-fiber, low-calorie snack. Celery seeds have been used as a seasoning and as an herbal medicine for thousands of years. Celery seed contains chemicals that have antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticoagulant and diuretic properties. Talk to your doctor before you begin taking any dietary supplements containing celery seed extract, particularly if you are on diuretics or blood thinners.
Lipid-Lowering Properties
Like celery sticks, celery seed extract may help lower cholesterol and lipids in your body. Data from animal studies shows that celery seed extract lowers blood lipids. In 1995, researchers published the results of a study in the journal "Planta Medica" that examined the effect of celery seed extracts on rats fed a high-fat diet. Although the researchers did not determine which ingredient in celery seed was responsible, the extract reduced total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein, or LDL.
Helicobacter Pylori Bacteria
If you suffer from stomach ulcers or gastroenteritis, celery seed may improve the taste of your food and help to heal you. An ingredient in celery seeds kills Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori, the bacteria associated with stomach inflammation, gastroesophageal reflux disease, duodenal and gastric ulcers, and stomach cancers. In the August 2009 issue of "The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology," researchers reported on a study in which they purified and identified a celery seed component called "compound with anti-Helicobacter activity or CAH." The results showed that CAH inhibited and killed H. pylori bacteria.
Alzheimer's Disease
Celery seed extract may offer a treatment alternative for ravages of memory and cognitive ability caused by Alzheimer's disease. A 2010 animal study published in "The Journal of Neuroscience" examined the effect of an ingredient in celery seed called L-3-n-Butylphthalide, or L-NBP, in 10-month-old mice with the abnormal brain characteristics associated with Alzheimer's disease. The researchers found that L-NBP reduced the levels of Amyloid beta -- the substance found in the plaques that kills nerve cells in Alzheimer's patients. The researchers found that L-NBP reduced mental function impairment in the mice as well.
Insect Repellent
Put away your citronella candles: celery seed extract can repel mosquitoes better. Mosquitoes spread illnesses such as west Nile disease, yellow fever, dengue fever and malaria. A 2009 study published in the journal "Tropical Medicine and International Health" tested celery seed extract against 15 commercial mosquito repellents. Some of the commercial products contained citronella and DEET. The most-effective formula they tested contained 25 percent celery seed extract.The researchers found that celery seed extract repelled several mosquito species and caused less skin irritation than the commercial products.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Celery Seed; Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD; November 2008
- "The Journal of Neuroscience"; L-3-n-Butylphthalide Improves Cognitive Impairment and Reduces Amyloid-β in a Transgenic Model of Alzheimer's Disease; Ying Peng, et al.; June 2010
- "Tropical Medicine and International Health"; Repellent Properties of Celery, Apium Graveolens L., Compared with Commercial Repellents, Against mosquitoes Under Laboratory and Field Conditions; B. Tuetun, et al.; November 2005
- "The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology"; A Novel Compound from Celery Seed with a Bactericidal Effect Against Helicobacter Pylori; Y. Zhou, et al.; August 2009
- PubMed Health; Helicobacter Pylori; David Zieve, MD, MHA, and George F. Longstreth, MD; August 2009
- "Planta Medica"; Effects of Aqueous Celery (Apium Graveolens) Extract on Lipid Parameters of Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet; D. Tsi, et al.; February 1995
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