Since 200 B.C., celery or Apium graveolens has been used in Asia to keep blood pressure under control.

A curious pharmacologist at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine, William J. Elliott, was so intrigued when his Vietnamese graduate student Quang T. Le mentioned about the use of celery in his family for treating high blood pressure that he decided to isolate the active compound which possesses such an effect.

Elliot extracted a compound called 3-n-butyl phthalide that is abundantly found in celery and gave it to rats with normal blood pressure with dosage comparable to four stalks of celery a day. He noted that it could indeed bring the blood pressure down.

Elliot speculated that the mechanism of the celery extract to lower blood pressure is by means of reducing or blocking the secretion of stress hormones such as epinephrine, which causes constriction of the blood vessels. Contriction of blood vessels lead to higher blood pressure.

Celery may be most effective in those who suffer from high blood pressure as a result of mental stress. Celery also neutralises excess acid, especially uric acid. This may explain why celery-containing supplements may have anti-gout properties. Therefore, celery may reduce painful inflammation from a gouty arthritis.

So the next time you make your own salad or visit a salad bar, remember to include some raw celery into your salad bowl.