Efficacy of celery (Apium graveolens L.) alcoholic extract against systemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in rat models

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic caused global economic and health problems. The pandemic increased the number of infectious diseases categorized as neglected diseases, such as staphylococcosis, which is caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Celery is an herb that consist of antioxidants that can potentially act as antimicrobial agents. This study aimed to analyze the efficacy of celery alcoholic extract against systemic MRSA infections in rat models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 36 male, 6-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats (average weight: 300 g) were used as models. The rats were divided into six groups: Group K− (negative control), Group K+ (infected with MRSA without therapy), Group V (infected with MRSA+100 mg vancomycin per kg body weight [BW]), Group P1 (infected with MRSA+1 mg celery extract per kg BW), Group P2 (infected with MRSA+2 mg celery extract per kg BW), and Group P4 (infected with MRSA+4 mg celery extract per kg BW). The therapy was given once daily for 7 days. Blood and organs were taken on day 7 for hematology, serology, immunohistochemistry, and histopathology. RESULTS: Results showed that 4 mg celery extract per kg BW promotes the healing of MRSA systemic infections in rat models (p≤0.05). The better prognosis was indicated by the normalization of red blood cell indices, white blood cell, neutrophil and lymphocyte counts, Cluster of differentiation 4+, Cluster of differentiation 8+, and Cyclooxygenase-2 expression and absence of severe tissue damage. Celery extracts inhibited MRSA growth in the blood samples. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that celery alcoholic extract can potentially be used as an antimicrobial agent against systemic MRSA infections. A clinical study regarding the efficacy of celery extract must be conducted to ensure its potency against MRSA infections in humans.