Scientific Name Apium graveolens Linn. Family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) Used Part Fruits. Distribution Area An erect, annual or biennial herb, wild in the foot-hills of north-western Himalayas and the outlying hills of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Common Uses . Celery seeds are credited with stimulant and carminative properties and are prescribed as nervine sedative and tonic. Their decoction is a popular household remedy for rheumatism and they are said to be useful to some extent in liver and spleen trouble. The seeds exhibit a tranquilizing effect in experimental animals which suggests their therapeutic utility in various psychiatric, epilepsy-like diseases; they are prescribed as a decoction or as a liquid extract. The fatty oil from seeds is used in many medicinal preparations as an antispasmodic and nerve stimulant. The roots are credited with diuretic property; they are prescribed in anasarca and colic. The leaves also contain malonic acid. The herb contains three furocoumarins, viz. bergapten, xanthotoxin, and isopimpinellin which may find use for the cure of vitiligo and for the treatment of psoriasis. Pharmacological Effect The essential oil has been shown to possess tranquilizing and anti- convulsant activities. It also exhibits mild depressant activity in mice. The oil shows significant anti-fungal activity against a number of fungi. Others Celery seeds are employed as a substitute for fresh celery and in the manufacture of seasoning mixtures and spice aromas, for flavoring soups and salads, tomato juice, spreads and sauces, and meat dishes. As a flavoring agent they are used in the powder form. The powder is used in pickles and in the manufacture of celery salt which is mixture of ground celery seed and table salt. It is sprinkled on fish, egg, soup and croquets. Celery pepper is another popular spice mix containing ground black pepper in place of salt. India provides the bulk of celery seed for world trade for distillation of the essential oil (CELERY SEED OIL) and the preparation of oleoresinoids. The oil and oleoresinoids are popularily used for flavouring food. Celery seed oil is one of the most valuable flavoring agents and is extensively used for imparting a warm, aromatic and agreeable flavor to culinary sauces and celery salts and to food products of diverse kinds such as canned soups and meats. The leaves and stems also yield oil which is of an inferior quality when compared with the seed oil. The essential oil and the oleoresin are used as a fixative as well as an ingredient of perfumes and liqueurs.