Geographical Origin & Distribution
Aniseed (Pimpinella anisum) and its seeds, commonly referred to as aniseed, have ancient origins and have been used for thousands of years for culinary and medicinal purposes. Anise is believed to be native to the eastern Mediterranean region and parts of Southwest Asia. Some historical sources suggest that it originated specifically in Egypt and the Levant (modern-day countries like Lebanon, Israel, and Syria). The cultivation and use of anise spread from the Mediterranean region to Asia, Europe, and eventually the Americas, where it became a key ingredient in various cuisines and herbal remedies.
Historical Use
Aniseed has a long history of use in traditional medicine, culinary arts, and religious practices. From ancient Egyptian remedies to modern cough syrups, anise has remained a consistent part of human healthcare and culinary traditions for thousands of years.
Aniseed is also known as Anise, Brotsamen, Roman Fennel, or Süßkümmel
Medical Use
Anise or Aniseed, has been used for centuries in traditional medicine due to its various health benefits. The seeds, oil, and sometimes the roots of the plant are used medicinally.
Common Applications
Digestion: Aniseed has carminative properties, meaning it helps to reduce gas formation in the digestive tract. It also stimulates the production of digestive enzymes.
Respiratory Health: Aniseed helps clear mucus from the respiratory tract, making it useful in treating coughs, bronchitis, and colds.
Stress & Anxiety: it is used in traditional medicine to alleviate anxiety, stress, and mild insomnia.
Pain & Inflammation: Aniseed’s antispasmodic properties make it useful for relieving muscle tension and cramps, and its essential oil has been used to soothe headaches, particularly those caused by digestive issues.
Hormonal Balance: Aniseed is traditionally used to stimulate milk production. It may also help to balance hormones.
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Active Substances
- Anethole: It is widely used in flavoring food and drinks, and also in herbal remedies for digestive issues and respiratory problems.
- Estragole: Estragole has a sweet, anise-like flavor and aroma. While it is similar to anethole in structure, estragole has some antimicrobial properties but is used less in medicinal applications due to safety concerns regarding its long-term use.
- Limonene: Limonene contributes to the citrus-like note in aniseed’s flavour profile. It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and is often used in natural remedies for digestive and skin health
- Pinene: It has a fresh, pine-like aroma and exhibits antibacterial and bronchodilator effects, making it useful in treating respiratory issues.
- Safrole: Safrole contributes a slightly spicy note to the overall flavor profile. It is known for its aromatic properties but is used with caution due to its potential toxicity in large amounts
- Eugenol: Eugenol is a phenolic compound with antimicrobial, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties. It is also used as a local anesthetic in some natural remedies.
- Fatty Acids: These contribute to overall health, particularly in improving skin health and supporting metabolic functions.
- Flavonoids: Quercetin, kaempferol, and other flavonoids present in anise have antioxidant properties, which help neutralize free radicals, reducing oxidative stress and inflammation in the body.
- Phenolic Compounds: Those are contributing to the plant’s overall health benefits, including immune support.
- Coumarins: Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects and is sometimes used for sun protection and skin healing in herbal preparations.
Chemical Breakdown (per 100 g of dried Aniseed)
Essential Oil: 2-6 g
Anethole: 1.6-5.4 g (80-90% of the essential oil)
Estragole: 0.1-0.6 g (5-10% of the essential oil)
Limonene: traces
Pinene: traces
Eugenol: traces
Flavonoids: traces
Phenolic Compounds: traces
Coumarins: traces
Fatty Acids: traces
Tannins: traces
Sterols: traces
SWEET
Sweet herbs have a naturally sweet taste due to…
their essential oils, glycosides, or other compounds. They are often used in teas, desserts, herbal medicine, and cooking to add a pleasant flavour without the need for added sugars. Some also have medicinal benefits, such as aiding digestion, calming the nervous system, or acting as natural sweeteners. Describing a remedy as sweet generally led to that remedy being used in convalescence or recovery from illness.
Taste: the sweet taste of herbs comes from various compounds like glycosides, essential oils, polysaccharides, and aromatic compounds.
Action: sweet herbs generally have a nourishing, moistening, and balancing effect on the body.
Tonic Effect: sweet tonics are commonly used in traditional medicine to support energy levels, digestion, the nervous system, and overall vitality.
Energetics: warming, harmonising, nourishing, strengthening, or moistening the body.
AROMATIC
Aromatic herbs are fragrant plants rich in volatile oils…
that influence the nervous, digestive, and respiratory systems. Their strong scent comes from essential oils, which have calming, stimulating, antimicrobial, and digestive effects. These herbs are often used in teas, tinctures, steam inhalations, herbal baths, and essential oil blends. Many aromatics are classed as ‘carminatives’ and are used to reduce colic, bloating and agitated digestion.They also often feature in respiratory remedies for colds, chest and other airway infections. They are also classic calming inhalants and massage oils and are the basis of aromatherapy for their mental benefits.
Action: relaxing digestion & relieving bloating (carminative), calming, stimulating, clearing mucus, antimicrobial, promoting sweating to break fevers.
Energetics: primarily warming or cooling, drying, and light, influencing the nervous, digestive, circulatory, and respiratory systems.
Planting & Harvesting
Preferred Location
Basic Information
Leaves
The basal leaves near the bottom of the plant are broad and feathery, resembling those of parsley or cilantro. They are round-lobed and may have toothed edges. As you move up the stem, the leaves become smaller, narrower, and more finely divided, resembling a fern-like structure.
Flowers
The tiny flowers (about 3 mm) are white, or yellowish-white and appear in umbrella-shaped clusters called umbels. Each umbel can have 6 to 13 rays, and the flowers bloom in mid to late summer.
Seeds
After flowering, the plant produces oval, ridged seeds called aniseed. These seeds are grayish-brown to greenish-gray, about 1/8 inch (3-4 mm) long, and have a sweet, licorice-like flavor due to the presence of anethole. The seeds are often harvested once the umbels begin to dry out, as they are the most valuable part of the plant in both culinary and medicinal applications.
Harvest
It’s best to harvest Anise in September, as soon as the plant starts turning yellow – even if some of them are still quite green. Tie the stems together in bundles and hang those upside down in a dry space. Tip: if you hang the stems inside thin cloth bags, you will catch all the loose seeds.