Synonyms
Pastinaca anethum Spreng., Peucedanum graveolens Benth. & Hook.,Selinum anethum Roth

Local names
Aneth, anethum, bo-baluntshep, dill, Dill-Fenchel, eneldo, faux anis aneth, fenouil bâtard, fenouil puant, garden dill, Gartendill, hinan, inondo, jirashi, kapor, kerwiya amya, koper, sadapa, sadhab el barr, satakuppa, satakuppi, sathukuppa, satpushpa, shabat, shabath, shatapuspi, shebet, shebid, sheved, shevid, shi ra ja, shibth, sibt, slulpha, soolpha, sova, sowa, s-sebt, suva, sulpha, sutopsha, thian ta takkataen, zira

Description
An aromatic annual or biennial herb, 40–120 cm high, with an erect hollow green stem, branching above. Leaves glaucous, tripinnate, with linear leafl ets. Infl orescence umbellate with 15–30 rays; bracts and bracteoles absent; fl owers yellow. Fruits deep brown, fl attened, oval, with protruding clear back ribs with sharp edges

Plant material used
ried ripe fruits

Chemical assays
Contains not less than 2.0% essential oil. Gas chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry methods for essential oil constituents are also available.

Major chemical constituents
Contains 2–5% essential oil, the major constituent of which is carvone (20–60%). The carvone content in plants cultivated in India is reported to be 6% less than in those cultivated in Europe. Other characteristic terpenoid essential oil constituents include dihydrocarvone, 1,8-cineole, p-cymene, limonene, α-phellandrene, α-pinene and α-terpinene. The flavonoids present include kaempferol-glucuronide. Dillapiol is found in the essential oil obtained from plants cultivated in Egypt, India and Japan

Medicinal uses
Uses supported by clinical data
None.

Uses described in pharmacopoeias and well established documents
Treatment of dyspepsia, gastritis and flatulence, and stomach ache.

Uses described in traditional medicine
As an aphrodisiac, analgesic, antipyretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, galactagogue, appetite stimulant and vaginal contraceptive. Treatment of diarrhoea, asthma, neuralgia, dysuria, dysmenorrhoea, gallbladder disease, insomnia, hiatus hernia and kidney stones

Adverse reactions
Allergic reactions to Fructus Anethi including oral pruritus, tongue and throat swelling and urticaria, as well as vomiting and diarrhoea were reported in one patient with a history of allergic rhinitis.

Contraindications
Traditionally, extracts of fruits (seeds) have been used as a contraceptive and to induce labour. Furthermore, extracts of the fruits may have teratogenic effects. Therefore, the use of Fructus Anethi during pregnancy and nursing is not recommended.

Warnings
No information available.

Precautions
Carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, impairment of fertility
A chloroform–methanol (2:1) extract of the fruits was not mutagenic in concentrations up to 100.0 mg/plate in the Salmonella/microsome assay using S. typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100, with or without metabolic activation. A 95% ethanol extract was also without mutagenic activity in the same test system. An essential oil prepared from the fruits was cytotoxic to human lymphocytes in vitro, and was active in the chromosome aberration and sister chromatid exchange tests in the same system. The oil was inactive in the Drosophila melanogaster somatic mutation and recombination test in vivo.

Pregnancy: non-teratogenic effects
See Contraindications.

Nursing mothers
See Contraindications.

Other precautions
No information available on general precautions or precautions concerning drug interactions; drug and laboratory test interactions; teratogenic effects during pregnancy; or paediatric use.

Dosage forms
Dried fruits for teas, essential oil and other galenical preparations for internal applications. Store in a tightly sealed container away from heat and light.

Posology
(Unless otherwise indicated)
Average daily dose: Fructus Anethi 3 g; essential oil 0.1–0.3 g; or equivalent for other preparations