Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Celery (Apium graveolens), of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) family. Biennial marsh umbellifer with furrowed juicy stalks and tiny ribbed seeds; native range: wet places and salt-marshes across Europe, the Mediterranean and temperate Asia. Globally recognized as ajmoda / dipyaka in Sanskrit, ajmod / shalari in Hindi, karafs (كرفس) in Arabic, and smallage · wild celery · celery seed in English. The part used is seed (chiefly), root, whole herb. The seed is warmly aromatic, pungent and a little bitter, with the characteristic green celery scent; the stalk juicy, salty-sweet and faintly bitter.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
CELERY
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Celery
- Scientific name
- Apium graveolens L.
- Family
- Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)
Form
- Part used
- seed (chiefly), root, whole herb
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- pungent · bitter (katu , tikta)
- Western
- pungent · aromatic, bitter
- Unani
- pungent · aromatic, bitter
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Western
- warm
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd–3rd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- kidneys · joints · digestion · uterus
- Unani
- liver · kidneys · stomach · uterus
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- dipana-pachana (digestive), vata-kaphahara, shulaghna (antispasmodic), krimighna (anthelmintic), mutrala (diuretic)
- Western
- diuretic, anti-rheumatic, carminative, urinary antiseptic, emmenagogue, mildly sedative
- Unani
- mudirr-e-baul (diuretic), mufatteh-e-sudad (deobstruent), kaasir-e-riyah (carminative), mudirr-e-haiz (emmenagogue)
Cautions
Contraindications: pregnancy (emmenagogue and uterine stimulant); acute inflamed kidney disease; high pitta
Toxicity: the seed and plant can photosensitise (furanocoumarins); large doses irritate the kidney
Interactions
- Western
- anticoagulants: coumarin constituents may add to anticoagulant effect · photosensitising drugs: additive phototoxicity from furanocoumarins · diuretics: additive diuresis and potassium loss
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