Foeniculum vulgare
Quality: Yang
Element: Earth
Fennel is a 4 to 5 foot perennial, the feathery leaves have fleshy sheaves at their base. There is a yellow umbrella cluster of flowers.
Fennel has an anise taste. It has been a cooking ingredient since Roman times and is used in herbal medicine to help digestion. The Greeks and Romans believed it gave courage and it was used as a nervous tonic. They also believed it cured the wind’s diseases. It has long been used with fish to help digestion and to add taste. Here we are using it as a digestive.
Reference:
- Mohamad RH, El-Bastawesy AM, Abdel-Monem MG, Noor AM, Al-Mehdar HA, Sharawy SM, El-Merzabani MM. (2011) Antioxidant and anticarcinogenic effects of methanolic extract and volatile oil of fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare). J Med Food. 2011 Sep;14(9):986-1001.
- Chatterjee S, Zahid MS, Awasthi SP, Chowdhury N, Asakura M, Hinenoya A, Ramamurthy T, Iwaoka E, Aoki S, Yamasaki S. (2016) In Vitro Inhibition of Cholera Toxin Production in Vibrio cholerae by Methanol Extract of Sweet Fennel Seeds and Its Components. Jpn J Infect Dis. 2016 Sep 21;69(5):384-9.