Fennel Seeds

Fennel Seeds

Fennels or Fennel seeds are dried seeds that comes from the fennel herb. They are roughly 4-8 mm in length and look like a grooved or ridged grain of rice. They look like cumin seeds, only greener, and have an aniseed flavour and a warm, sweet aroma. Also referred as Saunf in Indian terms, it comes in colours ranging from bright green to pale green and tan tasting - sweeter and slightly less pungent and intense than licorice. It is native to the Mediterranean, But now available throughout the world. India ranks #1 in fennel production. Fennel, bearing the scientific name Foeniculum Vulgare Miller, or its essence, is widely used around the world in mouth fresheners, toothpastes, desserts, antacids and in culinary. Fennels have been favoured for it taste and aroma in all spicy Indian foods and also in Chinese foods.

Being rich in phytoestrogens, it hints various potential health benefits from children to elders.

  • Anaemia: Iron, and Histidine, an amino acid found in fennel, are helpful in treatment of anemia stimulating production of haemoglobin and also helps forming other components of blood.
  • useful addition to any of the Breast Enlargement herbs
  • is an effective treatment for respiratory congestion and is a common ingredient in cough remedies. . It is gargled for hoarseness and sore throats.
  • For Women: used for the Breast Enlargement, for increasing the flow of breast milk, promoting menstruation, easing the birthing process, and increasing sex drive.
  • Fennel seed powder in tea is believed to be good for snake bites, insect bites or food poisoning.
  • is used to improve the function of kidneys, spleen, liver and increases the flow of urine.
  • Colic: A research from NYU Langone Medical centre says that a trial enrolled 125 infants with colic , who received either placebo or fennel seed oil at a dose of 12 mg daily per kg of body weight. 3 The results were promising. About 40% of the infants receiving fennel showed relief of colic symptoms, as compared to only 14% in the placebo group, a significant difference. Another way to view at the results involves looking at hours of inconsolable crying. In the treated group, infants cried about 9 hours per week, compared to 12 hours in the placebo group. While these are promising results, confirmation by an independent research group is necessary before the treatment can be accepted as effective. Fennel is also a common ingredient in “gripe water,” a traditional (and highly alcoholic) preparation used for treating infant colic .
However despite its health benefits, it is so intense that it interacts with some functions of medicines taken like:
  • Ciprofloxacin : Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) is an antibiotic. Fennel might decrease how much ciprofloxacin (Cipro) the body absorbs. Taking fennel along with ciprofloxacin (Cipro) might decrease the effectiveness of ciprofloxacin (Cipro). For this reason, it may be advisable to avoid taking fennel during therapy with ciprofloxacin or other antibiotics in this family.
  • Fennels also interact with estrogens and birth control pills

Recommended Dosage:

A typical dose of fennel is 1–1 1/2 teaspoons of seeds per day

Interesting fact:

Fennel are enemies to fly. Their aroma is disliked by flies. Sprinkling some fennel powder in an area of flies cloud will be of great help to get rid of them.