Fennel ordinary

Common name: pharmacy dill.

Parts Used: Mature fruit, very rarely root.

Pharmacy name: fennel fruit – Foeniculi froctus (formerly: Fructus Foeniculi), fennel oil – Foeniculi aetheroleum (formerly: Oleum Foeniculi), fennel root – Foeniculi radix (formerly: Radix Foeniculi).

Botanical description. This is an annual or perennial plant, which is strengthened in the ground by a fleshy root and reaches a height of 1-2 m. The leaf segments are narrow. The middle and upper leaves have a large sheath. Yellow flowers are collected in umbrellas, umbrellas in umbrellas without wrappers. Blooms from July to September. It comes from the Mediterranean, is currently cultivated for medicine in almost all southern European countries and in America. (It must be determined very carefully: it can be confused with other poisonous umbrella plants!) The fennel used in pharmacy is of purely cultural origin. We get it from China, Bulgaria, Hungary and Egypt.

Collection and preparation. Since fennel fruits do not ripen at the same time, it is impossible to harvest at one time. Therefore, the so-called combing is carried out, when only mature umbrellas are cut out. Such selective harvesting of fennel requires great care, but on the other hand, the material is of a higher quality than that obtained by mass picking or mowing plants. The fruits are threshed, after drying, they traditionally break up into two half-fruits.

active substances. The active ingredient in fennel is an essential oil, which is up to 6% in good material. It consists of 50-70% trojas-anethole, which has a sweetish taste, as well as fenchone and other substances that taste like camphor. Fennel oil is very similar to anise oil. Other components – fatty oil, protein and sugar – are related substances in terms of their action.

Healing action and application. Fennel is widely used in medicine as an expectorant, as a sedative, especially for babies, as well as a remedy for flatulence, which is also noted by the German National Health Service. It is often used in a mixture with anise and cumin.

  • Fennel tea: 1 teaspoon with the top of the mashed fruit is poured into 1/4 liter of boiling water and filtered after 10 minutes. Against cough, drink 2-5 times every day, 1 cup of tea sweetened with honey (do not sweeten diabetics!). As a stomach tea and against “gas” in the intestines, unsweetened tea is better. It can also be used as an eye wash if mixed with an equal volume of boiled water. Fennel fruits are an integral part of numerous tea mixtures against coughs, diseases of the stomach, intestines, liver and biliary tract, as well as for spring and autumn courses of treatment. Fennel essential oil is added to cough juices, so-called carminative juices and fennel honey.

The use as a condiment is the same as that described in detail for anise. Fennel is used as an additive in baking bread and other bakery products, to canned fruits and salads. It should also be noted that there is a variety of fennel that is very popular as a vegetable.

Use in homeopathy. The homeopathic product Foeniculum is known to be a good remedy for loss of appetite, bloating, coughs and asthma. Moreover, Foeniculum is used to stimulate lactation and as a means to improve vision. Dt and D 1 are the most accepted dilutions. Dosage: several times every day, 5-10 drops.

Application in folk medicine.The court physician of Ferdinand I, P.A. medicine. In modern language, it sounds something like this: fennel helps with indigestion, bloating, loss of appetite, mucous sputum, painful menstruation, inflammation of the eyes, diseases of the biliary tract and liver, insufficient lactation, nervous anxiety, abscesses and inflammation of the mammary glands. Sebastian Kneipp praised the effects of fennel tea especially for coughs, lung diseases, and as an antispasmodic for whooping cough and asthma. Fennel tea is especially noted as a remedy for headaches associated with poor digestion.

Side effects. In very rare cases, allergic skin, stomach and intestinal reactions have been observed.

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