CHAPTER 14: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

Fennel, with its aniseed-like scent and taste, is a popular culinary herb in the Mediterranean region, Egypt, India and China. The bulb is eaten as a vegetable and its seeds can be consumed fresh or dried. Fennel oils are used as fragrance components in cosmetics and detergents. Sweet fennel is used in the food and beverage industry as a flavouring. Fennel was used in traditional Ayurvedic, Chinese, Japanese, Greek and Arabian medicine as a digestive. Research, mainly from the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East, provides evidence of fennel possessing a range of bioactive properties although the body of research is not large for some. These properties include its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, glucose lowering, anti-diabetic, lipid lowering, cardioprotective, hepato-protective, chemopreventive/anti-cancer, and antimicrobial properties. There is also evidence, mainly in the form of clinical trials, concerning fennel's impact on menstruation, the menopause and gastrointestinal disorders.