Seeds, essential oil.
The herbal remedies derived from the seeds of the anise are famous for their ability to bring about a reduction in gas and bloating affecting a person, they are also able to settle the problems related to digestion. Remedies derived from anise seeds are very commonly used with infants and children to induce relief from cases of colic, and these remedies are also given to people of all ages to help in relieving the symptoms associated with indigestion and nausea arising as a result of different reasons. Another beneficial effect of the anise seeds, mainly their antispasmodic properties are very helpful in effectively dealing with the symptoms of menstrual pain, with the discomfort during asthma attacks, in the treatment of the whooping cough, as well as in the treatment of other spasmodic coughs, and cases of bronchitis in different patients. The use of these anise seeds derived remedies for their expectorant action is often suggested to treat these different respiratory ailments and disorders. At the same time, the remedies made from the seeds of the anise are also believed to be able to bring about an increase in the production of breast milk; furthermore these remedies may be beneficial in the treatment of impotence and frigidity in individuals affected by such ailments. The essential herbal oils derived from the anise are also used in the treatment of similar complaints in patients. The essential herbal oil is also a topical remedy, and it is used for the external treatment accorded to lice and to treat cases of scabies in patients. It is suggested that the essential oil must be consumed by patients when they are under careful and responsible professional supervision. Women in the term of pregnancy must also abstain from taking anise, with the exception of minute amounts, such as those normally used during cooking.
The areas of the world such as North Africa, western Asia and the eastern Mediterranean are regions where the herb grows in the wild-anise is native to these geographical regions, though it present cultivation is widespread. These days, the anise plant is very widely cultivated for its seeds; these have a medicinal value and are also used as a flavoring agent in cooking as a part of some traditional cuisines. This plant is an annual herb. It is usually cultivated these days and not harvested from the wild, the seeds are sown in dry and light soils in the early summer. The anise is also planted as thin seedlings at four inches apart in the fields. To produce fully ripened seed heads, the anise requires at least 120 frost free days in a year.
Anise contains a volatile oil (comprising 70-90% anethole, together with methyl chavicol and other terpenes), furanocoumarins, flavonoids, fatty acids, phenylpropanoids, sterols, and proteins. Anethole has an observed estrogenic effect, and the seeds as a whole are mildly estrogenic. This effect may substantiate the herb's use as a stimulant of breast-milk production.
