FENNEL (FOENICULUM VULGARE)
Fennel is a effective medicinal and aromatic plant from the Umbelliferae family. Fennel cultivated in countries with a Mediterranean climate. Fennel fruits are used in alternative medicine as carminative, diuretic, laxative, antiseptic, sedative and stimulant effects. Fennel fruits tea prolong the lactation period of breast feeding mothers and relieves gas pain especially in babies. Day by day the demand of fennel fruit for herbal tea production is increasing all over the world and especially in Europe.1 Fennel plant is consumed as a vegetable and spice when fresh, and its seeds and essential oil are used in the medicine and beverages, and the perfume industry.(2,3)
Fennel mainly has two types: bitter fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare) and sweet fennel (foeniculum vulgare var dulce). Sweet fennel's essential oil is considered to be of high quality.1 The amount of trans-anethol in the essential oils of Turkish fennel is quite high. In 1986 essential oils obtained from sweet fennel fruits collected from eight different provinces of Turkey were examined by Akgül (1986)4; trans-anethol was found between 75.6-86.5%, limonene 4.2-9.1%, estragol 3.2-5.2%, fenkhon 1-2.8%, γ-terpinene 0.8-1.5% and –α pinene 0.4-1.1%.
More than twenty fatty acids were identified and quantified from the fennel.These are caproic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid, undecanoic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, myristoleic acid, pentadecanoic acid, palmitic acid, heptadecanoic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, ????-linolenic acid, arachidic acid, eicosanoic acid, cis-11,14-eicosadienoic acid, cis-11,14,17-eicosatrienoic acid + heneicosanoic acid, behenic acid, tricosanoic acid, and lignoceric acid.6
Fennel extract exerted a relaxing effect on smooth muscles of different organs (tracheal, iliac and uterine) by antagonizing several contraction-inducing agents. Fennel extract have a bronchodilatory effect, possibly it happening partly due to a potassium channel opening effect. Fennel powder has been approved in France since November 1990 with the following indications: traditionally used in the symptomatic treatment of digestive disorders such as: epigastric distension, slow digestion, secretions, flatulence. Also used as an adjunctive treatment for painful components of functional digestive disorders.5
In addition, fennel's essential oil and extracts have been screened for possible therapeutic potential against several other health disorders and reported to exert beneficial effect in gastric disturbances, respiratory disorders, glaucoma, hypertension, diabetes, CNS disorders, obesity, skin infections, tuberculosis and also can be used as anticoagulant, hepatoprotective and diuretic.9 Foeniculum vulgare is a widely distributed plant in most tropical and subtropical countries and have long been used in folk medicines to treat obstruction of the liver, spleen and gall bladder and for digestive complaints such as colic, indigestion, nausea and flatulence. 9
References:
1. Baydar, H. 2007. Tıbbi, Aromatik ve Keyf Bitkileri Bilimi ve Teknolojisi. SDÜ Ziraat Fakültesi Yayınları, Yayın No:51, Isparta.
2. Arabacı, O., Bayram, E. 2005. Rezenede (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) farklı ekim zamanı ve tohumluk miktarının verim ve bazı önemli özellikler üzerine etkisi. Türkiye VI. Tarla Bitkileri Kongresi 5 – 9 Eylül 2005. Antalya (Arastırma Sunusu, Cilt 1, Sayfa 529 – 534.
3. Stefanini, M.B., Ming, L.C., Marques, M.O.M., Facanali, R., Meireles, M.A.A., Moura, L. S., Marchese, J. A., Sousa, L.A. 2006. Essential oil constituents of different organs of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare). Rev. Bras. Pl. Med., Botucatu, 8: 193-198.
4. Akgül, A. 1986. Türkiye'de yetisen rezenelerin (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) uçucu yaglarının bilesimi üzerine bir arastırma. Tübitak Doga Tarım ve Ormancılık Dergisi 10: 301-307.
5. Assessment Report on Foenıculum Vulgare Mıller; European Medicines Agency, Evaluation of Medicines for Human Use, London, 21 February 2008, Doc. Ref: EMEA/HMPC/137426/2006.
6. Shamkant B. Badgujar, Vainav V. Patel, and Atmaram H. Bandivdekar; Foeniculum vulgare Mill: A Review of Its Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Contemporary Application, and Toxicology; Hindawi Publishing Corporation, BioMed Research International, Volume 2014, Article ID 842674, 32 pages, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/842674.
7. F.M. Birdane, M. Cemek, Y.O. Birdane, I. Gülçin and M.E. Büyükokuroğlu. Beneficial effects of Foeniculum vulgare on ethanol-induced acute gastric mucosal injury in rats. World J Gastroenterol. 13(4): 607-11(2007).
8. B. Birkner, P.W. Gündling, H.O. Neuberger, W. Popp-Nowak, O. Bertermann and K. Kuchlbauer. [Fennel tea and damp warm compresses. Prescriptions for the stomach and intestine]. MMW Fortschr Med. 146(8): 12-13(2004).
9. Chanchal G., S A Khan1, S. H. Ansari, Arti Suman1, Munish Garg, Chemical composition, therapeutic potential and perspectives of Foeniculum vulgare. Phcog Rev. Vol, 3, Issue 6, 346-352, 2009. Available Online : www.phcogrev.com.