The effects of celery leaf (apium graveolens L.) treatment on blood glucose and insulin levels in elderly pre-diabetics

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the effect of celery leaf extract on blood glucose and plasma insulin levels in elderly pre-diabetics. METHODS: This study was conducted between March and November 2014 at the Faculty of Medicine, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with a control group was conducted with elderly pre-diabetic volunteers. The subjects included 16 elderly pre-diabetics older than 60 (6 males and 10 females). The subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups: a control group (placebo-treated) and a treatment group (celery-treated). The treatment consisted of celery leaf extract capsules at the dose of 250 mg, 3 times per day (morning, afternoon and evening), 30 minutes before a meal, for 12 days. Data analysis was performed using the t-test (p<0.05). RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in pre-prandial plasma glucose levels (p=0.01) and post-prandial plasma glucose levels (p=0.00), but no significant increase in plasma insulin levels (p=0.15) after celery leaf treatment in elderly pre-diabetics. CONCLUSION: Celery was effective at reducing blood glucose levels, but there was a lack of association between blood glucose levels and plasma insulin levels in elderly pre-diabetics.