# Celery (Apium graveolens)

*Wild celery, smallage; *Apium graveolens* L.*

**Known today as.** *Apium graveolens*, of the family Umbelliferae, native, Grieve writes, to the Levant and southern Europe and cultivated in Britain; Culpeper found the wild plant growing in dry and marshy ground, green all winter. The ripe seeds, the herb, and the root are used. The seeds have an agreeable smell and a warm, slightly pungent taste, and contain two oils, one heavy and one lighter, and some apiol, less than parsley.

Kind: Plant

> **Caution.** The same meta-analysis found no more adverse events with celery than with placebo. Culpeper records that it provokes the courses. None of the sources read for this entry reports on its safety otherwise.

## What was it used for?

A diuretic and a nervine. Grieve calls it a carminative stimulant, diuretic, tonic, and nervine, “promoting restfulness and sleep,” said to be very good for rheumatism, and recommends eating the fresh cultivated root as well as taking the oil or extract.

## What does modern science say?

No European monograph for it was found for this entry. A 2025 meta-analysis of ten randomised trials with 511 participants found that celery preparations lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, and triglycerides, though not cholesterol, with seed preparations doing better than other parts; but it warned that the substantial heterogeneity and small samples called for further high-quality trials with longer follow-up.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **apiol**: in the seed, less than in parsley
- **two oils**: in the seed, one heavy and one lighter

**Mechanism.** Not established in the sources read for this entry.

**Standing.** There is no European monograph. A 2025 meta-analysis of ten trials found lower blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, and triglycerides.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Culpeper, *The Complete Herbal* (1653).** “It is an herb of Mercury,” Culpeper writes of smallage, the wild celery, “hotter, drier, and much more medicinal than parsley”: it opened obstructions of the liver and spleen, provoked urine and the courses, and was good against jaundice and agues, especially as a syrup. Its juice with honey of roses and barley-water made a gargle for sores in the mouth and throat, and the seed broke wind, killed worms, and helped a stinking breath.

## Sources

- Grieve, M. *A Modern Herbal*, “Celery (Wild).” As published on botanical.com.
- Culpeper, N. *The Complete Herbal*, “SMALLAGE.” Project Gutenberg, 49513.
- Liu D, et al. (2025). Effects of celery (<i>Apium graveolens</i>) on blood pressure, glycemic and lipid profile in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. *Frontiers in nutrition*. PMID 40765738.
- Grieve, M. *A Modern Herbal*, “Celery (Wild).” As published on botanical.com.
- Liu D, et al. (2025). Effects of celery (<i>Apium graveolens</i>) on blood pressure, glycemic and lipid profile in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. *Frontiers in nutrition*. PMID 40765738.

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*Celery.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-10-17. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/celery

Historical description, not medical advice.