Fennel

Botanical name: Foeniculum vulgare (Family: Umbelliferae)

Other common names: bitter fennel; sweet fennel

Part used: seed, the herb and fresh bulb are used in cooking

Constituents: volatile oil; phenolic acids; flavonoids; furanocoumarins; fixed oil

Actions: stomachic, carminative, antiinflammatory, orexigenic, galactogogue, antimicrobial, expectorant, mildly oestrogenic

Uses: Fennel has many uses. The volatile oil of fennel is antispasmodic and carminative, this makes fennel an excellent herbal remedy for flatulent dyspepsia, cramps, wind, colic, nausea, travel sickness and loss of appetite.

Try a tea made from bruised fennel seeds to aid digestion, prevent heartburn or relieve constipation. Cooled fennel tea can also be useful for flatulence and colic in infants, as the active constituents of fennel pass into mother's milk and can be provided to the infant via breastfeeding. It is also used for upper respiratory conditions, especially in children, as it is a good expectorant. Herbalists have traditionally used fennel to enhance lactation because it stimulates milk production. It may also help to relieve stiff, aching joints when used alongside other herbs.

Preparations: tea, tincture or fluid extract; fennel was a traditional ingredient of gripe water

Research:

Antibacterial and phytochemical screening of Anethum graveolens, Foeniculum vulgare and Trachyspermum ammi, abstract

Systematic evaluation of the antioxidant potential of different parts of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. from Portugal, abstract

Investigations into the antibacterial activities of phytotherapeutics against Helicobacter pylori and Campylobacter jejuni, abstract

Soothing methods used to calm a baby in an Arab country, abstract

Chemomodulatory action of Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel) on skin and forestomach papillomagenesis, enzymes associated with xenobiotic metabolism and antioxidant status in murine model system, abstract

Oculohypotensive effects of foeniculum vulgare in experimental models of glaucoma, abstract

Potential of spice-derived phytochemicals for cancer prevention, abstract

Safety: The herbal remedy fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is generally regarded as safe when used appropriately. There have occasionally been cases of allergy to fennel and other Umbelliferae species.