fennel, pharmacy dill.
FENNEL (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.)Biennial or perennial plant of the umbrella family (Umbelliferae). The root is taproot, fleshy, yellowish-white. The stem is straight, round, finely ribbed, very branched, up to 2 m high. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, with membranous sheaths along the edges, ovate-triangular, three or four pinnately dissected, individual leaf segments narrowly linear or filiform, protruding. The lower leaves are large, long-petiolate, the middle and upper ones are sessile on narrowly oblong membranous sheaths along the edges. The whole plant is covered with a bluish bloom. The flowers are small, with yellow petals, collected in complex umbrellas, reaching up to 20 cm in diameter, without wrappers and wrappers. The fruit is a brownish-gray oblong, slightly thickened two-seeded seed in the upper part. Weight of 1000 seeds – 3-4 g. Blossoms in July – August, fruits ripen in September – October. It grows wild in the regions of Central Asia, in the Crimea and Transcaucasia. It grows on dry rocky slopes, along ditches, grassy places, also within roads and housing, in weedy places. The plant is native to the Mediterranean countries. As a medicinal and spicy plant, it was well known in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. In the history of medicine, an 18th-century English physician is mentioned who successfully treated people with liver and kidney stones with fennel.
COLLECTION AND DRYING OF RAW MATERIALS
For medicinal purposes, mainly the fruits of fennel (Fructus Foeniculi) are used. The flowering of the plant and the ripening of the fruits do not occur simultaneously, therefore, the fruits are harvested in two periods: first, the central umbrellas are collected as soon as they begin to turn yellow, then the entire plant is cut when the fruits ripen on the main the mass of umbrellas (the fully developed fruits of the remaining umbrellas are still green). The crop is harvested mechanically or manually. Plants collected in bunches ripen and dry out in clear weather – in the field, in cloudy weather – in special dryers. The shelf life of raw materials is 3 years. The taste of raw materials is sweetish, spicy, the smell is strong aniseed, fragrant. Store fennel fruits separately from other types of raw materials in a dry, well-ventilated area.
PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
Galenic products from fennel fruits increase the secretion of the digestive glands, have a choleretic, antispasmodic and diuretic effect, also regulate intestinal motor activity, and have some antibacterial effect. Also, fennel fruits have a calming effect on the central nervous system.
APPLICATIONS IN MEDICINE
Fruit. Included in Traskov’s anti-asthma mixture. Essential oil, “fennel oil”, – as a corrective of the taste of drugs, as an expectorant, with flatulence. “Dill water” – to improve bowel function, with flatulence in infants. Included in carminative tea. Infusion – expectorant for bronchitis. In Korean medicine, it is antipyretic. In folk medicine, it is used similarly to scientific and, in addition, as a diuretic; with bronchial asthma, neurasthenia, spastic colitis. Included in soothing, choleretic and carminative teas.
DOSAGE FORMS, METHOD OF APPLICATION AND DOSES
Infusion of fennel fruits (Infusum fruct. Foeniculi): 10 g (2 tablespoons) of raw materials are placed in an enamel bowl, pour 200 ml of hot boiled water, cover with a lid and heat in boiling water (in a water bath) for 15 minutes, cool for 45 minutes at room temperature temperature, filter, the remaining raw material is squeezed out. The volume of the resulting infusion is adjusted with boiled water to 200 ml. The prepared infusion is stored in a cool place for no more than 2 days. Taken warm, 1/3 cup 3-4 times every day as an expectorant and carminative. Fennel oil (Oleum Foeniculi). Essential oil obtained by distillation of crushed fennel fruit. Contains up to 60% anethole. Transparent, colorless or yellowish, easily mobile liquid with a strong peculiar odor reminiscent of the smell of anise. The taste is first bitter camphor, then sweetish. It is used for flatulence and as an expectorant, sometimes for taste in mixtures. Produced in bottles of 5 and 10 g. Dill water (Aqua Foeniculi). Ingredients: 1 part dill oil to 1000 parts water. Colorless, transparent or slightly turbid liquid with a peculiar aromatic smell, sweetish, and then bitter taste, neutral reaction. Used for flatulence and as an expectorant. Take 1 tablespoon 3-6 times daily.
APPLICATIONS IN OTHER FIELDS
It is used in the food, confectionery, perfume industry and everyday life as a flavoring agent. Clinical trials have established the suitability of fennel oil solids as a substitute for cocoa butter for pharmaceutical purposes. Essential oil is used in perfumery for fragrance. After the distillation of the essential oil from the fruits, a fatty oil is obtained, which is used in technology, and the waste remaining after the extraction of the oil is used to feed livestock. It is widely used as a spice in the national cuisines of Romania, Hungary, France, Spain, Italy, China, and India. It is widely cultivated as an essential oil and medicinal plant mainly in Ukraine (mostly in the Chernivtsi and Khmelnitsky regions), Moldova, Belarus, the Krasnodar Territory of Russia, and the North Caucasus. In the southern regions, the fruit yield is up to 16 centners per hectare.
ELEMENTS OF AGROTECHNICAL CULTIVATION
The technology of cultivation of common fennel is in many respects similar to the technology of growing dill. Seeds are sown in an ordinary way with row spacing of 50 cm or in a belt – with a distance between rows in a tape of 20 cm, between tapes – 50 cm and plants in a row – 8-10 cm. Seeds retain their germination capacity well for 2-3 years. During the growing season, 2-3 inter-row processing and weeding are carried out. When grown on low-fertility soils, 1-2 fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers is carried out. The most common fennel variety is Baloney.
TASTY TIPS
Fennel stew.
Finely chop the fennel heads (500 g), sauté in melted butter (30 g) with onions (100 g), then add the broth (200 ml), salt and simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Add sour cream (50 g) and finely chopped fennel leaves to the finished dish. When browning, you can add a tablespoon of flour. You can use milk instead of broth. Fennel prepared in this way can be served as an independent dish, also as a side dish for fried potatoes.