Celery
Quick Facts
- What it is: Celery (Apium graveolens) is a common vegetable whose seed was used in American folk and Eclectic medicine for gout, joint pain and fluid build-up.
- Main uses: Gout and high uric acid, Joint pain, High blood pressure, Fluid build-up
- Active ingredients: 3nB (3-n-butylphthalide), Apigenin, Luteolin, Psoralens such as bergapten, Apiole, Limonene
- Forms: Fresh stalks and juice, Celery seed and celery salt, Capsules and tablets, Standardised seed extract, Tincture, Essential oil (not for swallowing)
- Time to effect: Weeks, if anything at all
- Side effects: Mostly mild gut upset and more urine; allergy and sun-burned skin are the real risks.
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What is Celery?
Celery is the plant Apium graveolens. The crisp green stalks are a common food. The dried fruits, sold as celery seed, are the part most often used as a remedy.
Smallage is the old name for wild celery. It is leafier, more bitter and smaller than the garden kind. American folk and Eclectic healers used it for gout, stiff joints and fluid build-up.
Long use is not proof that a plant works. It is not proof that it is safe either. Human studies on celery seed are few, small and weak.
The honest verdict: celery is a good food, but a weak and unproven remedy. Its main real risk is allergy, which can be severe in some people.
How does Celery work?
No one has shown how celery seed works in people. Almost all the findings come from lab dishes and animals.
Celery seed holds an oil called 3nB, short for 3-n-butylphthalide. In animal studies it appears to relax the walls of blood vessels. That could lower blood pressure, but human proof is lacking.
Apigenin and luteolin are plant pigments found in celery. In cell studies they damp down signals that drive swelling and pain. Whether that happens inside a human joint is not known.
Celery seed also makes animals pass more urine. That is a diuretic effect (one that makes you pass more urine). Folk healers leaned on it to explain the use for gout.
No sound trial shows that celery lowers uric acid in people. Uric acid is the waste that forms gout crystals.
Celery also holds psoralens. These are plant chemicals that make skin react to sunlight. That effect is real and well documented in people who handle the plant.
What forms does Celery come in?
Celery reaches you in very different strengths. The food and the concentrated seed products are not the same thing.
Fresh stalks, leaves and celeriac root. Ordinary food.
Celery juice. Popular online, but still just a food.
Whole or ground celery seed, and celery salt. Used as a spice.
Celery seed capsules and tablets. Often sold for gout or joint aches.
Standardised seed extract. Usually set to a fixed level of 3nB.
Tinctures, which are alcohol extracts. The Eclectic doctors favoured these.
Celery seed essential oil. Very strong. It is meant for scent work, not for swallowing.
Where it comes from:
Celery has been grown around the Mediterranean for over two thousand years. Early use was more about medicine than salad.
In the 1800s, American Eclectic physicians used celery seed as a diuretic (a medicine that makes you pass more urine). They also used it for gout and for what they called rheumatism.
Celery was also sold as a nerve tonic. Branded celery compounds were popular patent medicines in the late 1800s. Most owed their punch to alcohol rather than to the plant.
These traditions describe what healers believed and did. They are not a record of tested results, and they are not a reason to treat yourself.
Who should avoid Celery?
- Never eat or take celery if you have a celery allergy, even in small amounts.
- Do not take celery seed products if you react to birch or mugwort pollen, carrot, fennel or parsley, as cross-reactions are common.
- Do not take celery seed, extract or oil if you are pregnant, as it was traditionally used to bring on periods.
- Do not take celery seed supplements if you are breastfeeding.
- Do not take celery seed products if you have kidney disease or an inflamed kidney.
- Do not take celery seed supplements with lithium (a mood medicine) unless your doctor agrees.
- Avoid celery seed extract if you take water pills or blood pressure medicines, unless your doctor has agreed.
- Do not swallow celery essential oil.
- Avoid sunbeds and long sun exposure after celery juice or oil touches your skin.
- Do not take celery seed supplements in the two weeks before planned surgery.
When should you see a doctor?
Call emergency services at once if your lips, tongue or throat swell, if you come out in widespread hives, or if you struggle to breathe. These are signs of a severe allergic reaction.
Stop use and see a doctor if your skin blisters after sun exposure, if you feel faint or very dizzy, or if your urine output changes a lot.
See a doctor rather than self-treating if you have gout attacks, swollen ankles, or high blood pressure. These need proper assessment.
Is Celery legal where you live?
In the United States, celery is an ordinary food. Celery seed products are sold as supplements, and the FDA does not approve them to treat any disease. In the UK and EU, celery is a food and must be named as an allergen on labels.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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