What Science Says About Celeriac
1. Potassium
Celeriac is one of the more potassium-rich vegetables, although the figures vary between databases: 300 mg per 100 g of raw root in the USDA table and 500 mg in the French Ciqual table. [1] [2] In a meta-analysis of 22 randomised trials in 1,892 participants, higher potassium intake lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.49 mmHg and diastolic by 1.96 mmHg in adults, and by 5.32 and 3.10 mmHg in people with hypertension. [3]
2. Dietary nitrate
EU monitoring of 41 celeriac samples found a median of 263 mg of nitrate per kilogram fresh weight, with a mean of 390 mg/kg and a 95th percentile of 975 mg/kg — less than stalk celery, which has a median of 693 mg/kg. [4] A meta-analysis of 16 randomised trials of inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice found systolic blood pressure 4.4 mmHg lower, with larger doses giving larger effects. [5] Celeriac has not been tested in this way, and its nitrate content is moderate.
3. Polyacetylenes — falcarinol and its relatives
Researchers have isolated falcarinol, falcarindiol, panaxydiol and a previously unknown compound, 8-O-methylfalcarindiol, from celeriac. [6] Falcarinol is absorbed in humans: after a drink made from carrot powder, it appeared in the blood of 18 healthy volunteers, peaking at 0.9–4.0 ng/mL within about an hour and with a half-life of about 1.5 hours. [7] In rats, a diet containing falcarinol and falcarindiol led to fewer early lesions in the colon; [8] a year-long randomised human trial of polyacetylene-rich carrot juice is now under way. [9] Until it reports, the human evidence is limited to absorption.
4. Phthalides — the aroma of celery, in the root too
Celeriac shares celery's aroma chemistry. Phthalides made up 37.4% of the volatile extract of celeriac and 42.3% of celery's, with sedanenolide a major component of both. [10] 3-n-butylphthalide, a member of the same family, is the active compound of a stroke medicine approved in China in 2002. [11] The human trials of celery and blood pressure used seed extracts and leaf preparations, not the root. [12]
5. Phenolic compounds and apigenin
Juice pressed from celeriac contained 93–225 mg of polyphenols per litre, and quinic acid made up 74.9–98.1% of its phenolic acids; juice from unpeeled roots was richer. [13] The root carries much less apigenin than the green parts of the plant — about a fifth of the apiin and a sixteenth of the free apigenin. In the same study, root extracts reduced inflammatory signalling in mouse immune cells, a laboratory finding the authors note has not been tested in living organisms. [14]
What has not been studied
No controlled human trial has tested celeriac or celeriac juice. The findings above describe the plant and its compounds — from food composition data, trials of potassium and nitrate, carrot polyacetylene studies and celery seed preparations — not a promise about the juice.
Allergy and sensitivity
Celery, including celeriac, is one of the fourteen allergens that must be declared on food labels in the EU. [15] In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 32 patients with a history of reactions to celery root, 22 had their allergy confirmed. [16] The major celery allergen Api g 1 loses its structure when heated, but the protein Api g 7 is heat-stable: reactions to cooked celery tuber have been reported, and sensitisation to Api g 7 raises the risk of anaphylaxis about six-fold. [17] Celeriac also contains furanocoumarins, which can make skin more sensitive to sunlight. Fifty retail roots contained 4–38 µg/g (average 17.3); levels rose up to 16-fold during cellar storage and reached 200 µg/g in parts infected by fungi. [18]
References
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: Celeriac, raw. FDC ID 170400.
- ANSES. Ciqual French food composition table 2020: Celeriac, raw.
- Aburto NJ, Hanson S, Gutierrez H, Hooper L, Elliott P, Cappuccio FP. Effect of increased potassium intake on cardiovascular risk factors and disease: systematic review and meta-analyses. BMJ. 2013;346:f1378. doi:10.1136/bmj.f1378
- EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM). Nitrate in vegetables — scientific opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain. EFSA J. 2008;689:1–79.
- Siervo M, Lara J, Ogbonmwan I, Mathers JC. Inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice supplementation reduces blood pressure in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Nutr. 2013;143(6):818–826. doi:10.3945/jn.112.170233
- Zidorn C, Jöhrer K, Ganzera M, et al. Polyacetylenes from the Apiaceae vegetables carrot, celery, fennel, parsley, and parsnip and their cytotoxic activities. J Agric Food Chem. 2005;53(7):2518–2523. doi:10.1021/jf048041s
- Jakobsen U, Kobæk-Larsen M, Kjøller KD, Antonsen S, Baatrup G, Trelle MB. Quantification of the anti-neoplastic polyacetylene falcarinol from carrots in human serum by LC-MS/MS. J Chromatogr B. 2022;1210:123440. doi:10.1016/j.jchromb.2022.123440
- Kobaek-Larsen M, El-Houri RB, Christensen LP, Al-Najami I, Fretté X, Baatrup G. Dietary polyacetylenes, falcarinol and falcarindiol, isolated from carrots prevents the formation of neoplastic lesions in the colon of azoxymethane-induced rats. Food Funct. 2017. doi:10.1039/c7fo00110j
- ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT06335420: polyacetylene-rich carrot juice after removal of high-risk colon polyps (Px7 trial). Study protocol version 5, 12 March 2024.
- MacLeod G, Ames JM. Volatile components of celery and celeriac. Phytochemistry. 1989;28(7):1817–1824. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)97866-X
- Wang Y, Shen Y, Liu Z, et al. Dl-NBP (dl-3-n-butylphthalide) treatment promotes neurological functional recovery accompanied by the upregulation of white matter integrity and HIF-1α/VEGF/Notch/Dll4 expression. Front Pharmacol. 2020;10:1595. doi:10.3389/fphar.2019.01595
- Liu D, Zhao H, Xu H, Hu J. Effects of celery (Apium graveolens) on blood pressure, glycemic and lipid profile in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Front Nutr. 2025;12:1597680. doi:10.3389/fnut.2025.1597680
- Jaworska G, Szarek N, Hanus P. Effect of celeriac pulp maceration by Rhizopus sp. pectinase on juice quality. Molecules. 2022;27(23):8610. doi:10.3390/molecules27238610
- Kwak SA, Lee JJ, Park JH, Joo N. Phytochemical profiling and anti-inflammatory effects of aerial and underground parts of Apium graveolens var. rapaceum (celeriac). Food Sci Nutr. 2025;13(10):e71011. doi:10.1002/fsn3.71011
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, Annex II: substances or products causing allergies or intolerances.
- Ballmer-Weber BK, Vieths S, Lüttkopf D, Heuschmann P, Wüthrich B. Celery allergy confirmed by double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge: a clinical study in 32 subjects with a history of adverse reactions to celery root. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2000;106(2):373–378. doi:10.1067/mai.2000.107196
- Kosztulska B, Bartuzi Z, Ukleja-Sokołowska N. Current state of celery allergy: is discovering Api g 7 a milestone in diagnosing celeriac-allergic patients? Int J Mol Sci. 2025;26(12):5840. doi:10.3390/ijms26125840
- Peroutka R, Schulzová V, Botek P, Hajšlová J. Analysis of furanocoumarins in vegetables (Apiaceae) and citrus fruits (Rutaceae). J Sci Food Agric. 2007;87:2152–2163. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2979