The celery introduced in this issue comes from Umbelliferae. Umbelliferae plants are mainly characterized by containing a high proportion of volatile oil and coumarin, so they often have a strong aroma. They are named after their umbrella-shaped inflorescences. There are more than 23 species of Umbelliferae plants that are known to be used as medicines. Angelica sinensis, Bupleurum chinense, Radix Angelicae Pubescentis, Notopterygii Rhizoma, Radix Angelicae Dahuricae, Radix Peucedani and Chuanxiong, which are commonly used in clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine, all come from Umbelliferae. Besides being a vegetable, celery can also be used as medicine.
There are three kinds of celery, namely, celery, water celery and celery. The celery used as medicine mainly refers to celery, and its alias is also called medicinal celery besides celery. Oenanthe javanica has been recorded in the Book of Songs. It is native to China, and celery was introduced to China in modern times. However, there are different opinions on whether the origin of Oenanthe javanica is China. However, according to ancient records, the celery in ancient records is mainly Oenanthe javanica, and after the Han Dynasty, it was said that Oenanthe javanica was brought into China from the Mediterranean region by Zhang Qian in the Han Dynasty or introduced through a caravan. Exotic plants in China, introduced from the Han Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, were preceded by Hu characters, introduced in the Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties by Fan characters, and introduced in the Qing Dynasty by foreign characters. Such as carrots, tomato sweet potatoes, taro and so on.
among the three kinds of celery, Oenanthe javanica is also called wild Oenanthe javanica, which mainly grows in swamps or humid environment. However, because of the great market demand, it has been widely cultivated and planted. The cultivated Oenanthe javanica is tender and taller than the wild Oenanthe javanica, but its fragrance is not as good as that of the wild Oenanthe javanica. The stem of celery is slightly thicker than celery, not as tender as celery, and the taste is slightly worse, but it is rich in flavor, so it is also called celery; The stem of celery is relatively fat, and it is mainly taken from the stem when eating. It is worth mentioning that celery leaves contain more carotene and vitamin C than stems, so you should not choose stems to discard leaves when eating. In order to remove the bitterness of celery leaves, you can scald them with boiling water before using them.
celery is sweet, pungent, slightly bitter and cool. When taking medicine, it is mostly taken by squeezing fresh juice, which has the effects of calming the liver, clearing away heat, expelling wind, inducing diuresis, stopping bleeding and detoxifying; Commonly used for dizziness due to liver yang, wind-heat headache, cough, jaundice, urinary stranguria, hematuria, metrorrhagia, leukorrhagia, sores and swelling.
Author: Jiangnan Wang Pharmacist