Last Updated: 2010-01-28 9:00:08 -0400 (Reuters Health)

* Apigenin flavonoid found in celery, parsley and red wine

* Study shows apigenin may help prevent leukaemia

* But it may also interfere with chemotherapy treatment

LONDON (Reuters) - Eating foods like celery and parsley which contain the naturally occurring flavonoid apigenin may help prevent leukaemia, Dutch scientists said on Thursday.

Maikel Peppelenbosch of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands said tests showed that apigenin -- a common component of fruit and vegetables -- was able to halt the development of two kinds of cells in leukaemia and cut their survival chances.

The findings suggest apigenin could hold promise for preventing leukaemia, Peppelenbosch said.

But he warned that his study had also found the compound has chemotherapy resistance properties, suggesting it might interfere with standard treatments for people already diagnosed with leukaemia.

"Apigenin might be a useful preventative agent for leukaemia, but it should not be taken at the same time as chemotherapy for established disease as it could interfere with the positive effects of treatment," Peppelenbosch wrote in the scientific journal Cell Death and Disease.

Flavonoids are compounds with antioxidant properties that protect cells against damage by oxygen molecules.

Previous studies have shown that apigenin, which is found in celery, parsley, red wine, tomato sauce and other plant-based foods, may also be beneficial in protecting against ovarian cancer.