(Foeniculum vulgare Mill.)
Fennel, also known as finocchio, is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. Its natural habitat is the fertile soil of the Mediterranean climate; in Europe and Asia it is grown for pharmaceutical and food purposes. Fennel plant was already known in antiquity. The Romans believed that snakes sucked juice out of it to see better. Fennel was also considered the first slimming agent, and its Greek name Marathron originates from the verb “grow slim”.
Fennel fruit (harvested in the fall) and essential oil is used in phytotherapy. Its fruits contain stigmasterol, flavonoids, proteins and sugars. Raw material extract is mainly used in children and in the elderly in digestive disorders due to its spasmolytic and carminative effects.
The fennel extract is part of the Amarosal syrup, which is recommended in the absence of appetite.
P. Ody, Wielki zielnik medyczny, wyd. DEBIT, 1993, p. 59
H. Strzelecka, J. Kowalski, Encyklopedia Zielarstwa i Ziołolecznictwa, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2000, s. 246-247
Herbal Medicine, expanded commission E monograph, p.124-129
E. Lamer-Zarawska, B. Kowal-Gierczak, J. Niedworok, Fitoterapia i Leki Roślinne, wyd. PZWL, Warszawa 2007, p. 313-314
