Fennel

Feniculum vulgare Mill.

Celery family – Ariaceae, or Umbelliferae – Umbelliferae

 

What does common fennel (pharmacy or dill) look like? Biennial or perennial plant 1-2 m tall. Its stem is straight, rounded, bare, inside spongy, bluish-green. The flowers are collected in complex umbrellas. The fruit is glabrous, 5.5-7 mm long and 3-4 mm in diameter, brown-green or gray-green with 10 longitudinal blunt ribs. It comes from the Mediterranean, in the wild it is found in the Crimea.

Where does it grow? Widely cultivated in Ukraine.

What and when are collected? Fruits containing volatile oil (oleum Foeniculi), fatty oils, sugar, protein. The volatile oil contains anethole (60%), anisic acid, anisic aldehyde, anisic ketone and terpenes — pinene, camphene, phellandrene.

When is it used? As a means that excites and improves appetite and digestion and exhibits antispasmodic, carminative and weak diuretic effects. It is used for atony of the stomach, for bloating (flatulence), cough in children, for chronic constipation with colic, for diarrhea, for stomach and intestinal spasms, as an expectorant for bronchitis and whooping cough. Increases milk production in lactating women and regulates menstruation.

It is prepared as a hot infusion. Pour 1 teaspoon of crushed fennel fruits (2-3 g) with a glass of boiling water, steam for 10 minutes and add honey or sugar to taste. For adults, take 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of fruit per 1 cup of boiling water. In case of digestive disorders, the infusion is not sweetened. Use pure volatile oil with honey: 2-3 drops for children and 5-10 drops for adults per 1 tablespoon of honey (single dose).

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