Abstract

• Celery (Apium graveolens L.) is used in folk medicine as antihypertension agent and it has also been known to possess antioxidant activity. The plant is also known to be rich in nitrate which is antihypertension. Therefore the plant has been selected to study its nitrate content, antioxidant activity as well as total phenolic and flavonoid contents. It was found that crystals of potassium nitrate abundantly fell out of the ethanol extract on standing. By the first derivative UV spectrophotometric method based on nitration of salicylic acid, nitrate content in stalk of celery from Kalaw (S2) is 6,314.398 mg/kg FW (fresh weight). This is one of the highest among the different parts of celery. Total flavonoids (27.170 and 29.757 mg QE/g FW) and phenols (28.566 and 32.769 mg GAE/g FW) contents in leaf from Nyaung Hnit Pin (S1) and (S2) and antioxidant activity IC50 value (45.219 μg/mL ) in stalk from (S2) are also high.