Fennel or Foeniculum vulgare , meaning "little hay" due to the finely divided leaves of the fennel plant, has had a long history. The early Puritans of the 16th Century named it "meeting seed" as they would chew the seed during church ceremonies.
During the 17th Century the herbalist and astrologer Nicholas Culpepper claimed fennel could help those with excess weight to lose a few pounds, and with a similar dietary purpose ancient Greek athletes ate the seed to give strength but not weight.
In the Middle Ages you would have found the people using it to suppress hunger during periods of fasting.
In Chinese and Hindu culture it was used to dispel poisons from the body after snake bites or scorpion stings. Whilst the Saxons regarded it as one of their sacred herbs believed to be able to cure what they thought were the nine causes of disease. They also believed it to be a magical herb able to keep evil spirits from their homes during Midsummer's Eve. The seeds of fennel were placed into the key holes to keep ghosts from entering.
Thought to have originated from the Mediterranean, fennel has since spread throughout Europe, India, Australia and the Americas, and seems to have a widespread appreciation.
This plant can be enjoyed and used as a food, herb or spice. It's a root vegetable related to the carrot and has a herbal foliage with flowers that contain the fruit or seed.
Amongst botanists of today fennel is regarded as the most aromatic of all the herbs.
It is part of the apiaceae family or umbelliferae which is a type of umbel or cluster of flowers, so named as it resembles an umbrella with its flower heads.
Other types of umbelliferae include wild carrot, parsley, dill, chervil, caraway and coriander to name but a few. Included in this family tree is the renowned poison hemlock, which is believed to have been used to poison Socrates; so you might say it's a family of both good and bad qualities.
The compound anethol is the extract of essential oil obtained from the seed and is renowned for its aromatic scent which resembles aniseed or liquorice.
The seeds, stems and leaves of this plant can all be used for medicinal purposes. Its main components consist of coumarins (powerful anti-coagulants), volatile oils, flavanoids and sterols (steroids).
Bartrams Encyclopedia recommends fennel for many conditions.
Medicinal benefits of fennel:
• Has a mild warming effect upon a sensitive stomach
• Calmative, antispasmodic, a soothing diuretic, mild stimulant, anticoagulant, antimicrobial
• Can soothe colic in infants and griping to promote appetite
• Helps ease Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• It is a galactagogue and can arouse and stimulate milk flow
• Useful as an eye wash
• Is recommended as an anti-ageing ingredient
• In India the seed is chewed as a breath freshener can also be found in some toothpastes
• Indian restaurants often display fennel seeds in bowls for their customers as it has the effect of easing digestion and gas, with the ability to relax the smooth muscle lining of the digestive tract, as do many aromatic herbs.
It is advisable to infuse half a teaspoon of crushed dried fennel seed in hot water for about 5-10 minutes to appreciate its full medicinal properties.
It is easy to grow in the garden and one can begin reaping the goodness of this plant at the tips of your fingers. But do be warned, it can grow to a very grand 6 ft.
Alternatively, fennel tea can be obtained from any good health food shop.
According to alternative-medicines.com, the US Foods and Drugs Administration considers fennel safe, yet pregnant women should be more careful due to its estrogenic effects. They do give caution however not to harvest or pick fennel in the wild as it closely resembles the deadly hemlock.
Sources:http://www.alternative-medicines.com/singles/herbs/s842.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fennel
Bartrams Encyclopaedia of Herbal Medicine
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