ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Celery (Apium graveolens L., Apiaceae) is one of the popular aromatic vegetables and part of the daily diet around the world. In this study, aqueous-ethanolic and hexane extracts of celery seed were prepared and the amount of n-butylphthalide, as an active component, was determined in each extract. Then the effects of hexanic extract on systolic, diastolic, mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate were evaluated in an invasive rat model. The vasodilatory effect and possible mechanisms of above mentioned extracts on aorta ring were also measured. High performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that hexanic extract contains significantly higher amounts of n-butylphthalide, compared to aqueous-ethanolic extract. The results indicated that hexanic extract significantly decreased the systolic, diastolic, mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate in normotensive and hypertensive rats. Our data revealed that celery seed extract exerts its hypotensive effects through its bradycardic and vasodilatory properties. Moreover, the active components in celery seed extracts could induce their vasodilatory properties through Ca2+ channel blocking activity in endothelial and non-endothelial pathways and particularly by interference with the extra or intracellular calcium.