Medicine derived from celery seed may improve stroke outcomes

Feb. 17, 2023 — Butylphthalide, a new drug made from celery seed, may improve outcomes after clot-induced stroke when given in addition to prompt clot treatment, according to a new study.

Patients who received the treatment had less severe brain symptoms and better daily functioning 90 days after the stroke, compared to those who received clot treatment and a placebo drug.

Butylphthalide is approved and available for use in China, where the study was performed. But the use of the drug has not been approved by the FDA.

“This is the first trial to show the benefit of using a drug that protects the brain from damage caused by a lack of oxygen to brain tissue. The drug was administered to acute ischemic stroke patients who were also receiving treatment to restore blood flow to the brain,” says co-author Baixue Jia, MD, a doctor of interventional neuroradiology at Tiantan Hospital in Beijing and the National Clinical Research Center of China. for neurological diseases in Beijing.

The research team defined the results as “favorable” if a patient fell into one of these categories 90 days after the stroke: an initially mild to moderate stroke and no symptoms after treatment; an initially moderate to severe stroke and no symptoms or mild symptoms that did not prevent them from doing their daily activities after treatment; or an initially severe to severe stroke and no symptoms or mild disability that interfered with some activities after treatment.

Of the 1,216 patients, 607 took butylphthalide and 609 took the placebo. The average age was 66 and 68% were male.

Overall, people in the butylphthalide group were 70% more likely to have a favorable outcome at 90 days, compared to the placebo group.

Butylphthalide also improved function in all patients, including those who initially received tPA, those who received mechanical clot removal, and those who received both.

Other outcomes such as recurrent strokes and brain bleeds were not significantly different between the two groups.

Further studies are needed, the study authors noted. Researchers don’t yet understand how butylphthalide works in the body or how stroke patients might react if they receive treatments other than tPA or mechanical clot removal.

“While these results are interesting, this is only a relatively small study in a fairly select population in China,” says Daniel Lackland, DrPH, professor of neurology and director of the Division of Translational Neurosciences and Population Studies. at Southern Medical University. Caroline.

Lackland, who was not involved in the study, is a member of the American Stroke Association’s Stroke Council. He cautions against combining butylphthalide directly with celery seed or celery seed extract supplements.

“Although this derivative that appears to be effective is from celery seed, it’s not the same as eating celery seed,” he says. “And so, we don’t want to see celery seeds and say, ‘OK, I’m doing this therapy that’s been shown to improve recovery after stroke. It’s not the same thing. Stroke survivors should always consult their neurologist or healthcare professional about diet after a stroke.