GREEN ANISE or ANISE BURNET SAXIFRAGE

Description

Herbaceous annual plant, 20-60 cm high, slightly pubescent and very scented. The leaves are polymorphous: lower ones are petiolate, rounded, kidney-shaped, toothed or slightly lobuled. Intermediate ones are oval or obovate, divided in three deep sections with toothed parts; the upper ones are caulinary bi or tripinnated, with narrow lobules and sheathed petioles. Flowers are white, grouped in umbels of 7 to 14 straight lines with no involucre. The fruit is a diachaenium, usually a whole one, but often might present a thin, rigid and slightly curved peduncle fraction. The fruit is longitudinally crossed by five primary ribs, three of them dorsal and two lateral ones which are lighter in color. Both the plant and the fruit release a characteristic anise scent when pressure is applied. Green anise belongs to the Umbelliferae family.

Plant that grows wild in Egypt and Middle East. It is cultivated in warm weather, mainly in Spain, Bulgaria, Italy, former USSR, Northern Africa and India. Green anise blooms around June and the fruits are harvested to extract seeds in July and August.

Part used

The fruits.

Indications

Internal use

• Digestive disorders: flatulence, epigastric inflammation, slow digestion, hyposecreting dyspepsia, eructation, gastrointestinal spasms, lack of appetite, colics in the unweaned infant, gastroenteritis, halitosis, stomatitis, hepatitis.
• Intestinal parasites: oxiuriasis.
• Respiratory disorders: bronchitis, pharyngitis, common cold, asthma, non-productive coughing. It is especially recommended to those in a program to quit smoking as it acts as a real nicotine and tobacco tar antidote: cleans out irritant mucosa from bronchi and helps in mucosa cells regeneration.
• Menstrual disorders: amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, menopause.
• Breastfeeding.

Both green anise and its essence are used as flavor and odor modifier, in the pharmaceutical, nutritional and liqueur industry.

External use

• Cutaneous mycosis: pityriasis versicolor, tinea pedis (athlete’s foot), candidiasis.
• Pediculosis (head lice), scabies.

Bibliography

Real Farmacopea Española, 1997.

British Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 1983.

Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals. Norman Grainger Bisset (Ed). Max Wichtl. CRC Press.1994.

Plantas Medicinales y Drogas Vegetales para infusión y tisana. Edición española a cargo de: Salvador Cañogueral, Roser Vila, Max Wichtl.1998.

Plantas Medicinales. Margarita Fernandez y Ana Nieto. Ed Universidad de Navarra.  EUNSA 1982.

Fitoterapia: Vademecum de Prescripción. Plantas Medicinales. Colaboran: Asociación española de médicos naturistas. Colegio Oficial de Farmacéuticos de Vizcaya.

Matière Médicale (tomo II). RR Paris- H. Moyse. Masson 1981.

The Complete German Commission E Monographs. Therapeutic Guide To Herbal Medicines. Mark Blumenthal. American Botanical Council 1998.

Fitoterapia Aplicada. J.B. Peris, G. Stübing, B.Vanaclocha. Colegio Oficial de Farmacéuticos de Valencia 1995.

Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants. Jean Bruneton. Lavoisier Publishing.

Plantas Medicinales. El Dioscórides Renovado. Pio Font Quer.

 Guía de Campo de las Flores de Europa. Oleg Polunin. Ediciones Omega S.A. Barcelona, 1977.

Pharmacognosy 9th edition. Varro E. Tyler – Lynn R. Brady – James E. Robbers.

Jean Bruneton. Farmacognosia. Fitoquímica Plantas Medicinales. 2ª Edición. 2001. Ed Acribia. S.A.

Bulletin officiel Nº 90/22 bis" del "Ministère des Affaires Sociales et de la Solidarité, Médicaments a base de Plantes.

French Public Health Code.

Benigni, R; Capra, C; Cattorini, P. Piante Medicinali. Chimica, Farmacologia e Terapia. Milano: Inverni & Della Beffa, 1962, pp. 92-5.

Bézanger-Beauquesne, L; Pinkas, M; Torck, M. Les Plantes dans la Therapeutique Moderne. 2ª. Paris: Maloine, 1986, p. 330.

Bézanger-Beauquesne, L; Pinkas, M; Torck, M; Trotin, F. Plantes Médicinales des Regions Tempérées. Paris: Maloine, 1980, p. 239.

Real Farmacopea Española. Madrid: Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, 1997, pp. 436-7.