Latin Name: Pimpinella anisum
Alternate Names: Huei-hsiang (Chinese)
Family: APIACEAE
Parts Used: Seeds.
Properties: Antispasmodic, Aperient, Aphrodisiac, Aromatic, Carminative, Digestive Tonic, Expectorant, Galactagogue, Parturient, Stimulant, Stomach Tonic, Tonic.
Internal Uses: Asthma, Bloating, Bronchitis, Catarrh, Colic, Cough, Diarrhea, Dysmenorrhea, Flatulence, Halitosis, Hiccups, Indigestion, Nausea, Whooping Cough
Internal Applications: Tea, Tincture, Capsules, Cough syrups, Lozenges
Topical Uses: Lice, Nightmares, Scabies
Topical Applications: Use as cologne. Anise is added to cattle feed as it increases milk production. It is also used as mouse bait and fish lure. Stuff seeds in a sachet or add to sleep pillows to prevent nightmares. In India, Anise water is used as cologne. Used to flavor unpleasant medicines. Also for toothpastes, mouthwashes and soaps. Essential oil is used to prevent and treat lice and scabies.
Culinary uses: Fresh leaf can be used in salads. Improves the taste of other medicines, breads, cakes, cookies, fruit, tomato sauce, and pickles. Eat seeds after a meal to aid digestion. Mustaceum is an after dinner digestive cake flavored with Anise. Alcoholic beverages (Pernod, Raki, Aguardiente, Uzo, Anisette, Kummel, Ojen). It is often the herb used to flavor licorice candy.
Energetics: Sweet, Pungent, Warm.
Chemical Constituents: Essential oil (anethole, estragol, methyl chavicol), furano- coumarins, flavonoid glycosides, fatty acids, phytoestrogens, starch, protein, choline, mucilage.
Comments: The genus name Pimpinella is thought to be derived from the Latin bipinnula, or bipinnate, as the leaves are arranged symmetrically on both sides. It was first cultivated in ancient Egypt and later by the Greeks. The Shakers grew Anise as an important cash crop.