Sweet, anise-flavoured fennel seed along with mug wort, nettle, thyme etc, has been revered as one of nine Anglo-Saxon sacred herbs for its health benefits. The spice is one of the most sought after ingredient in many popular cuisines all over the Mediterranean regions.

Tender perennial fennel is a member of parsley or umbelliferae family, a broad family of herbs and spices which has some common members such as caraway, dill, anise, cumin… etc. Scientific name of fennel is Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce.
Fennel is native to Southern Europe and grown extensively all over Europe, Middle-Eastern, China, India, and Turkey. This herbaceous plant grows up to 2 meters (about 6 feet) in height with deep green feathery (lacy) leaves and golden yellow flowers. The seeds, which appear similar to anise seeds, feature oblong or curved like comma shape, about 3-4 mm long, light brown colour and fine stripes over their surface. Fennel seeds are harvested when the seed heads turn brown.

In general, seeds are harvested during early hours of the day to avoid spilling of seeds on the ground. As in caraway, the cut plants staked until they dry and then, the seeds are threshed, processed and packed.

Fennel bulb (Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum), used as vegetable, is closely related to seed fennel grown for its anise flavoured sweet taste fronds.

Health benefits

Fennel symbolizes longevity, courage, and strength. In addition to its use as medicinal values, fennel has many health benefiting nutrients essential compounds, anti-oxidants, dietary fibre, minerals and vitamins.

Fennel seeds indeed contain numerous flavonoid anti-oxidants like kaempferol and quercetin. These compounds function as powerful anti-oxidants by removing harmful free radicals from the body thus protect from cancers, infection, aging and degenerative neurological diseases.

Like caraway, fennel seeds are rich source of dietary fibre. 100 g seeds provide 39.8 g of fibre. Much of this fibre is metabolically inert insoluble fibre, which helps increase bulk of the food by absorbing water throughout the digestive system and easing constipation condition.

In addition, dietary fibres bind to bile salts (produced from cholesterol) and decrease their re-absorption in colon, thus help lower serum LDL cholesterol levels. Together with flavonoid anti-oxidants, fibre composition of fennel helps protect the colon mucus membrane from cancers.

Fennel seeds have many health benefiting volatile essential oil compounds such as Anethol, limonene, anisic aldehyde, pinene, myrcene, fenchone, chavicol, and cineole. These active principles in the fennel seeds are known to have antioxidant, digestive, carminative, and anti-flatulent properties.

Fennel seeds are concentrated source of minerals like copper, iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, selenium, zinc, and magnesium. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation. Zinc is a co-factor in many enzymes that regulate growth and development, sperm generation, digestion and nucleic acid synthesis. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the powerful anti-oxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.

The seeds indeed are storehouse for many vital vitamins. Vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C as well as many B-complex vitamins like thiamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin and niacin particularly are concentrated in the fennel seeds.

Fennel is an aromatic herb belonging to the parsley family. It is used as a spice and also possesses a sweet taste which is similar to anise. It is said that Roman soldiers used to chew fennel seeds for strength. It is used both as a spice for beverages and veggie preparations and as a post-meal digestive aid and refreshment. Fennels leaves are also used in curries in many parts of India. Listed below are some of the popular benefits of consuming Fennel Seeds:

Constipation: Fennel seeds, mainly in powdered form, can act as a laxative. The roughage helps to clear the bowels, while it’s stimulating effect helps maintain the proper peristaltic motion of the intestines, thus helping promote proper excretion through the stimulation of gastric juices and bile production. Fennel is also commonly found in medicines that treat abdominal pain, diarrhoea, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and other intestinal issues.

Helps Regulate Blood Pressure: Research published in the Journal of Food Science, found that chewing on fennel seeds helped increased the nitrite content in saliva, making it wonderful natural way to keep a check on blood pressure levels. Apart from this, fennel seeds are also a very rich source of potassium and since potassium is an essential component of cells and body fluids, it helps control your heart rate and blood pressure.

Good for Constipation, Indigestion, IBS & Bloating: Tea prepared from fennel seed is considered very useful to help indigestion, bloating and constipation because of the oils found in these seeds. Fennel seeds contain estragole, fenchone and anethole, which contribute to the plant’s antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties. For those with IBS, the volatile oils found in fennel seeds can help kick start digestion by encouraging the production of gastric enzymes. For its multitude of gastrointestinal benefits, fennel tea is sure to help the digestive tract be healthy and happy.

Breast Enlargement: The flavonoids present in fennel seeds help to increase the amount of estragon thus acting as a stimulant and tonic. Fennel seeds help increase the size of the breasts as they increase the formation of new cells and tissues in the breast.

Helps Prevent Cancer: Fennel has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine to deal with inflammatory conditions like insect bites or sore throat. Fennel contains oil called anethole that has been shown in certain research to be a natural cancer remedy, helping to reducing the growth of breast cancer cells. It is supposed that anethole reduces inflammation that may lead to the development of cancer, though further research is necessary to determine how it can be used exactly.

Improves Colic: Infant colic, although it is a relatively benign medical condition, it may have a major impact on new parents. Most parents of a colicky infant would perhaps try nearly anything to calm their crying child.

Dicyclomine hydrochloride is a medicine used for colic have some serious side effects and may not be reliably effective. Researchers have found that fennel seed oil effective to reduce pain and increase motility in the small intestine, making it can excellent natural remedy for colic. Therefore including fennel seed is also one of the best options to cure this problem. The safest way to use it to treat infant colic is for a breastfeeding mother to drink fennel tea.

Great for Acne: Fennel seeds when consumed on a regular basis provide the body with valuable minerals like zinc, calcium and selenium. These minerals are considered helpful to balance hormones and in helping up the oxygen balance. When consumed, fennel has a cooling effect on the skin, hence giving a healthy glow. Regular consumption of the fennel seed is beneficial for skin health.

Brain Function: Potassium, found in high levels in fennel bulbs and seeds, is an electrolyte, and helps to facilitates increased electrical conduction throughout the body. This includes connections within the brain, which is an authentic switchboard of electric currents. Potassium helps increase brain function and cognitive abilities through this quality. Also, fennel is a vasodilator, which means more oxygen reaches the brain and neural activity can work at optimal functionality.

Menstrual Disorders: Fennel is also an Emenagogue, which means it comforts and normalizes menstruation by properly regulating hormonal action in the body. Additionally, fennel is used in a number of products to reduce the effects of PMS, and it is also used traditionally as a soothing pain reliever and relaxing agent for menopausal women.

Respiratory Disorders: Fennel is found useful in several respiratory disorders like congestion, bronchitis, and cough due to the presence of Cineole and Anetol which are expectorant in nature. Fennel seeds and powder help to break up phlegm and prompt loosening of the toxins and build-up of the throat and nasal passages for elimination from the body and quicker recovery from respiratory conditions.

Eye Health: Macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of age-related vision loss. Though the exact cause is unknown, antioxidants that reduce inflammation like certain flavonoids, vitamin C, and zinc may help improve vision or slow the progress of the disease.

Fennel consists of considerable amount of vision-saving nutrients. Due to its high flavonoid, vitamin C, and mineral content it help reduce oxidative damage and inflammation, and may help prevent macular degeneration