Apium graveolens L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 9

Apium graveolens L.

Names.

Myanmar: samut, tayokenan-nan, kum-bomb-kroke (Mon). English: celery, cultivated celery, marsh parsley, wild celery.

Range.

Eurasia and worldwide. Although found growing naturally, it is cultivated all over Myanmar for use as a vegetable.

Conservation status.

Least Concern [LC] ( IUCN 2017).

Uses.

Whole plant: The watery extract of the whole plant mixed with sugar or honey is used as a remedy for hypertension. Seed: With heating properties, the easily digestible yet bitter, sharp-tasting seeds are used to support digestion, increase sperm, promote circulation, control blood pressure, ease inflammation in the breathing passages, alleviate nausea and vomiting, and treat whooping cough and dropsy. Juice from chewing- the seeds wrapped in betel ( Piper betle ) leaf, is held in the mouth to treat dry coughs and coughs with mucus; the seeds alone, is swallowed to stop hiccups. The powder from pulverized seeds mixed with clove buds is ingested to alleviate nausea. Seeds with roasted salt are eaten to cure stomachaches. Seeds mixed with jaggery are shaped into pellets and taken for indigestion, overeating, and stomach distention.

Notes.

The medicinal uses of this species in India are discussed in Jain and DeFilipps (1991). Medicinal use of this species in China is discussed by Duke and Ayensu (1985).

In Thailand, researchers have shown that the seed extract is an effective larvicide for the dengue fever mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti ( Tuetun et al. 2005, Choochote et al. 2004).

Reference.

Agricultural Corporation (1980).