Adas / Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.)

Adas or Anise or Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Miller) has long been recognized as one of the components of traditional medicine. Fennel oil contained in its seeds is one of the components of Telon oil (traditional oil used to warm babies’ body).

This herbaceous plant smells nice. Its color is bright green. It grows upright, and can reach two meters in height. The leaves grow up to 40 centimeters long, ribbon-shaped, with the last segment in the form of hair, approximately 0.5 mm wide. Flowers are produced at the end of the stalk is compound flower with a diameter of 5 to 15cm. Each flower stalk section has 20-50 small yellow flowers on the short pedicles. The fruit is a dry seed from 4 to 9 millimeters long, with a width half of its length.

Adas seed has a slightly flattened shape, greenish brown color, fragrant aroma and slightly spicy flavor. It is used to flavor the dish. Usually for seasoning soups, curry, curry, etc.

Chemical contents:

The fruits contain 2-6% essential oil consisting of 50-70% trans-anetol and approximately 20% (+)-cis-anetol, 15-24% fenchone (taste bitter and smell like camphor), 22.3% estragol, 4-7% methylcavicol, anisaldehyde (a compound result of anetol oxidation), phenylalcohol, limonene, terpineol, a terpenoid hydrocarbon compounds such as pinene, felandren, limonene. In addition to essential oils were also found glicosidastilben funiculosyde I, II, III, IV 17), stigmasterin, flavonoids, fatty oils, proteins, organic acids, pentosan, pectin, trigonelin, choline, yodin. Its fresh leaves contain quercetin-3-glucu-ronyde, chaempherol-3-glucuronyde, 0.008% funicularyne-(quercetyne-3-arabinocyde), 0.1% nelumbocyde (quercetyn-3-glucoglucuronyde).

Biological and Pharmacological Effects

Essential oils: Essential oils of fennel fruits can have an effect on the inhibition of guinea pig tracheal contraction induced by histamine; in addition, it can have antiseptic effect.
Fruit: The dried fruit extract affects diuretic, antipyretic, sytotoxic and antimicrobial. It also increases the secretion of bile. The dissolved extract in n-hexane and ethanol has specific toxicity activity, as tested using the "Brine Shrimp Test" (BST) method.

Infuse of the fruit powder equivalent to 7.3 mg, 73 mg and 219 mg/100 GBB can have an effect on the inhibition of fertility (estrus phase) . It shows analgesic effects at doses of 910 mg / kg in male mice that received heat stimulation, proportional to the dose of paracetamol 145 mg / kg 24); power analgesics at doses of 910 mg / kg amounted to 96.99% (infuse mixture of fennel and pulosari (Alyxia stellata )have analgesic power 97.44%) .

Giving a mix of herbal extracts in the same amount of Talinum triangulare, Blumea balsamifera and Foeniculum vulgare to mice and male rats at a dose of 0.89, 1.33 and 2 g / kg body weight have an effect on the increaseing  of motoric activity and curiosity; reducing the effect of barbiturates hypnotic, protecting the phytosic effects  which is induced by recerpyne, and on increasing the length of swimming time. The larger the dose of Foeniculum vulgare given, the shorter the sleep time of the mice (there is a relationship between dose and effect).