Continuation. The beginning is in the article Fennel in the garden and on the table.
Long history of fennel
The first information about the use of this plant goes back to Ancient Egypt. In the Ebers papyrus (c. 1600 BC), the plant is mentioned as a remedy for bloating. Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) wrote in the XXth volume of his fundamental work Natural History: “Fennel is used not only as a spice, but also as a digestive aid. The seeds have a stimulating effect on a sleeping stomach, and also, when it is in a fever, it is also very favorable for pulmonary and hepatic ailments. It soothes diarrhea, acts as a diuretic ... ”Dioscorides and Hippocrates recommended this herb to increase the flow of breast milk. The Romans believed it improved digestion. Ancient authors recommended it for the bites of poisonous insects and snakes, and in the Middle Ages it was used as a remedy for the evil eye.
V. Strabo mentions this plant and gives numerous recommendations for its use in gastric diseases and as a milk-producing plant. He recommended an infusion of the root on wine as an antitussive agent. Charlemagne also mentions fennel in his writings. Hildegard Bingent spoke highly of the medicinal properties of fennel for colds. And in the future, not a single medieval herbalist did not do without mentioning it. Leonard Fuchs, in his New Herbalist (1543), provides an image, description and recommendations for the use of fennel. More than 200 recipes are given in the fundamental book on herbal medicine Jacobus Theodorus Tabemaemontanus (1520-1590). His herbalist went through 5 editions over almost a century and a half (the first in 1599, the last in 1731). It contains the recipe for fennel juice, syrup, oil, salt, distillate, pills and other dosage forms. In the publication of the herbalist Adamus Lonicerus (1528-1586), it is stated that fennel "increases lactation, helps with heavy breathing, strengthens the stomach." In addition, he recommended this plant for eye diseases, breast inflammation, jaundice, dropsy, as a wound healing agent, and as a water extract - as a cosmetic.
The Arabs and Chinese knew about the medicinal properties of fennel. Indian medicine notes a tonic and firming effect on the central nervous system. In Chinese medicine, it was referred to as a warming agent and was used as an analgesic, antispasmodic, and, similarly to European medicine, for gastrointestinal spasms and to improve digestion. Ancient oriental doctors, in particular Avicenna, recommended using fennel for spring fatigue.
In the Podolsk province and Bessarabia at the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. the fennel culture was widespread. Before the First World War, the annual gross production of fennel seeds in the northern part of Bessarabia reached 90 thousand poods, that is, more than 1400 tons.
... But it smells like anise
Of all the many substances found in fennel, the essential oil is of the greatest interest to pharmacists. Its content in fruits, depending on the variety and growing conditions, ranges from 2 to 6%. Bitter fennel contains on average about 4% essential oil, sweet fennel is slightly lower. The essential oil is obtained by hydrodistillation. It is a colorless to light yellow liquid with a very sweet aroma with a slight peppery tint.
50-70% of the oil consists of trans-anethole, which is characterized by a specific sweetish odor, which we call aniseed. About 20% of bitter fennel oil is bitter in taste (+) - fenchone. And in the essential oil of sweet fennel, anethole (which, according to the rules of the European Pharmacopoeia, should be at least 80%), anise aldehyde and terpene hydrocarbons (camphene, dipentene, α-pinene) prevail, fenchone in it, as a rule, is less than 1%.But the estragol in sweet fennel contains 2 times more than in bitter fennel oil.
In general, the composition of the oil is very diverse and includes almost all groups of volatile terpenes: monoterpenes (α-pinene - 3-4%, β-pinene-0.6%; 3.5-55% limonene, 0.3-4.8 - p-cymene, 0.7-12% cis-ocymene, 1-3% - myrcene, 1% - α-pellandrene, 2.6% -β-pellandrene, 1-10.5%, γ-terpinene, etc. .), monoterpene alcohols (fenchol - 3.2%, in small amounts terpinen-4-ol, linalool, terpineol), phenylethers (52-86% - trans-anethole, 2-7% methyl halvikol, 0.3-0, 5 cis-anethole), aldehydes (anisic aldehyde), ketones (up to 20% fenchone, anisketone), oxides (1,8-cineole, 2.8% - estragol). The ratio of the ingredients varies greatly depending on the type of fennel. Of greatest interest from a medical point of view are the forms and varieties containing the maximum amount of anethole.
In addition to essential, the seeds contain up to 9-26.6% of fatty oil, consisting of petroselinic (60%), oleic (22%), linoleic (14%) and palmitic (4%) acids, furocoumarins (bergapten and psoralen), sterols and phenol carboxylic acids. The fatty oil obtained as a by-product after the distillation of the essential oil is of interest for obtaining a suppository base (primarily, petroselinic acid triglycerides).
The herb contains the flavonoids quercetin, fenicularin, and a small amount of essential oil.
pharmachologic effect
Currently, in medicine, mainly fruits and the essential oil obtained from them are used. They exhibit bactericidal, diuretic, carminative, antispasmodic, sedative, coronary dilating, expectorant, anti-inflammatory effects. An important area of use is inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Like anise, fennel has an expectorant and bronchodilator effect. The spasmolytic effect of fennel is accompanied by a decrease in blood pressure, removal of arrhythmias, improved cardiac conduction, and a reduction in the frequency and strength of hypertensive reactions.
Fennel has a high anti-candidal activity (active dose - 100 μg / ml). When rehabilitating premises, it reduces the content of fungi in the atmosphere by 4-5 times. It acts on vulgar microflora at a dose of 250 μg / ml. The effect on mycoplasmas of pneumonia, FH- and L-forms of streptococcus is ineffective (the effect is manifested in a dose of more than 400-500 μg / ml).
Fennel is an active antioxidant. Fennel oil has a hepatoprotective effect against toxic liver damage. Increases appetite, secretion of the digestive and bronchial glands.
Useful even for children
Fennel fruits in the form of decoctions and infusions are taken in case of indigestion, heaviness in the stomach after a heavy meal, bloating, with cholelithiasis and kidney stones as an antispasmodic agent. Already in modern studies in the laboratory, the toxicity of fennel was determined in mice and it was found that at sufficiently high doses, the mice lost noticeably in weight. This is due to the fact that the substances contained in fennel bind fats in the intestines, and very few triglyceride molecules manage to break through into the body and be deposited in the form of a fat layer. And the ancients, it seems, guessed about this - fennel was dedicated to Mercury, which “oversees” the endocrine glands and metabolism in the body.
Dill water is prepared from fennel essential oil, which is used for flatulence and painful cramps in the gastrointestinal tract, especially in children.
Dill water (Aqua Foeniculi) is an aqueous solution of dill oil 1: 1000 - seemingly colorless transparent or slightly turbid liquid of sweetish taste, aromatic odor. It is prescribed orally 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon for flatulence, usually in children's practice.
At home, in this case, they cook infusion from 1 teaspoon of chopped fruits and 1 cup of boiling water. Insist for 30-40 minutes. After straining, the infusion can be sweetened with sugar.For adults, the infusion is made more concentrated, 2-3 teaspoons of raw materials are taken in a glass of boiling water. Take 1-3 tablespoons 4-5 times a day.
Fennel fruits with other plants are used as an expectorant for colds.
Outwardly, a more concentrated infusion can be used to gargle with a slight cold, stomatitis and gingivitis, and in European countries, herbalists use it for lotions for conjunctivitis (by the way, ancient Greek doctors also used it).
The positive effect of fennel fruit on sexual activity has long been noted. In folk medicine of many peoples, it is considered an "aphrodisiac" (as you might guess, the term originated from the name of the goddess of love). For this case, the loving French offer a special recipe. 100 g of chopped fruits are poured into 1 liter of port, insisted for 3 weeks, shaking daily, filtering and taking 100 ml after dinner if there are appropriate problems.
It is believed that the dimer of anethole - dianethole and anisaldehyde - are responsible for the estrogenic effects of fennel essential oil. Therefore, it is prescribed in aromatherapy for problems during menopause and for dysmenorrhea.
Currently, aromatherapists widely use fennel oil in the form of inhalation for colds, inside - for gastrointestinal disorders, flatulence, hangovers and food poisoning.
Fennel oil (Oleum Foeniculi) - transparent, easily mobile, colorless or yellowish liquid with aniseed odor, bitter-spicy taste. It is used 3-5 drops on sugar for pain in the intestines.
In aromatherapy, indications for the use of fennel oil are as follows: chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis, pharyngitis, angina pectoris, cardioneurosis, vegetative-vascular dystonia, urolithiasis, urinary tract infection, cystitis, gout, hepatitis, gastritis, gastroduodenitis, enterocolitis, dysbacteriosis.
It is not recommended to use concentrated fennel essential oil in the first 5 months of pregnancy, as well as for children under 6 years of age.
With a lack of milk in nursing mothers, the essential oil is taken orally 1-2 drops on a piece of sugar. If taken as a milk-producing infusion of fruits, then 1 teaspoon of raw materials is brewed with a glass of boiling water and drunk as tea half an hour before feeding. But you can also use the fruits (1 teaspoon (no slide!) Per glass of boiling water) and drink half an hour before feeding. A more versatile remedy for increasing milk production and eliminating bloating in a baby is a mixture of fruits of four plants in equal parts by weight: anise, fennel, coriander and cumin. They also brew 1 teaspoon per glass of boiling water and drink in the same way as in the previous case. The effect on the child is through milk when feeding.
In general, the plant is very useful in any home medicine cabinet.
Any side effects are extremely rare. But still, even these isolated cases should be mentioned. This is an allergic reaction - itching, allergic rhinitis. Its use, like any plant, and especially the use of essential oil, requires caution during pregnancy, and for children it is generally better to limit yourself to fruits, the effect of which is milder, and not to use essential oil.
