Anise - Use for intestinal distress and inflammation of respiratory tract. May increase libido

Name:
Common Name: Anise,
Botanical Name: Pimpinella anisum L.

Parts Used: Seeds

Whole dried fruits are the part of the plant to use. The Anise is originally cultivated in the Near East, but it is now cultivated in many countries, China, Egypt, Turkey, and Spain.

Anethole, creosol, dianethole, flavonoids, proteins, essential oils, sterols, terpene.

Anise is used to stimulate the excretion of the upper respiratory tract that relieve the dryness and inflammation due to infection of the tract. It also stimulates the gastric mucosa to secrete gastric juice and good for indigestion or lost of appetite.

The main constituent of the essential oils of both fennel and anise is a substance called anethole. Smaller amounts of anethole are found in other plants, including guarana. Clinical studies of anise are very few in number, but results of laboratory studies suggest that anethole is an anti-inflammatory agent and a very good antioxidant. Extracts of anise inhibit the growth of certain tumors, particularly colon cancer. An anethole derivative has been used to treat patients who do not produce enough saliva (a condition called xerostomia). There are also some laboratory studies suggesting that some ingredient in anise oil increases the movement of the cilia that line the bronchial passages. If the same thing happens in humans, that would account for the popularity of anise as an expectorant.

Occasional allergic skin reactions have been reported, but concerns raised during the 1970s, that anise oil might be a carcinogen, have generally been rejected.

The recommended single oral dose for use in treating cough and upper respiratory infection is 0.1 grams, roughly the amount contained in four drops of the oil, three times a day. The average daily dose is 3 grams of drug or 0.3 grams of oil.

Anise oil often used by the European physicians combing with thyme and other fragrant oils, such as licorice, to treat upper respiratory infection and to control flatulence. Although clinical trials did not proved that such usage are existent, but experience in Europe suggests that these remedies are effective, and that they are safe in the recommended doses.

Anise has always been extremely popular as a food flavoring, and is especially used by bakers and candy makers. In Germany and France, it is widely used to treat stomach upset combining with other herbs. Over the centuries, the essential oils from fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and anise have been used to increase milk secretion, promote menstruation, facilitate birth and increase libido. The pattern of use also suggests that something in anise extract have estrogenic activity.