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What’s this
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a ‘spontaneous grass which belongs to the Umbrelliferae or Apiaceae family. It is a plant that can reach two meters in height, with leaves divided into filiform strips and equipped with particularly developed sheaths. The flowers are small, yellow-green, aromatic and grouped in umbels, a feature common to all plants of the same family. The fruits are small cylindrical diachenes intensely scented.
Fennel grows spontaneously throughout the Mediterranean region and is grown for food and phytotherapeutic use. There horticultural variety it is the azoricum and the part of the plant that we consume is represented by the leaf sheaths collected in the first year of life. The amara and dulcis varieties, respectively bitter fennel and sweet fennel, are instead harvested or cultivated for the properties of the fruits, used in herbal medicine as they are or used to extract essential oil.
Properties and benefits
THE fennel fruits, called improperly fennel seeds, are rich in essential oil, flavonoids and organic acids. These compounds give fennel properties:
- antiseptics
- antioxidants
- aromatic
- stimulants
- expectorants
- digestive
- carminative
- spasmolytic
- galactogogues
The intake of fennel acts on gastrointestinal motility and secretions promoting digestion and reducing spasms. For this, it is very useful in case of slow and difficult digestion, abdominal bloating, bloating and flatulence and to reduce the side effects of some laxatives such as senna. Thanks to its spasmolytic properties, fennel is also traditionally used for counteract menstrual pain, which are caused by contractions of the uterus (dysmenorrhea). Folk medicine also uses it for stimulate lactation and improve the flavor of the milk, usually in association with anise, galega and fenugreek.
Fennel is also beneficial for the respiratory system because it promotes the ciliary movement of the bronchial mucosa and helps reduce the viscosity of secretions, promoting the elimination of excess mucus in case of colds, such as colds and coughs.
How to use it
Fennel can be used in herbal tea or in the form of dry extract, essential oil or mother tincture. There herbal tea it is prepared by placing about 4 grams of bruised fruits in boiling water, leaving to infuse for fifteen minutes with the lid, while the tincture it is administered diluted in water from one to three times a day (40 drops). Fennel can also be used in pediatrics, but in this case the dosages should be halved.
How to use essential oil
As for the essential oil, this can be taken orally in adults during the main meals for promote digestive processes and in case of intestinal parasites, but only for short periods, in small quantities e under medical supervision.
L’topical use fennel essential oil, on the other hand, involves diluting the essence in vegetable oil (1-3 drops for each tablespoon of olive, sweet almond or sunflower oil) to be massaged into the skin.
THE massages with fennel essential oil on the abdomen they are useful for treating digestive problems, bloated intestines, bloating and flatulence; in these cases, the essence of fennel can also be associated with those of coriander and anise. When massaged on the belly, it helps in case of abundant and painful menstruation. The essential oil of fennel massaged on the back and chest (always diluted in a vegetable oil) is instead useful for relieving cough, cold and respiratory problems. The massage oil prepared with essential oil of fennel, juniper, cypress and geranium is then used to tone the skin, slim down critical points and fight water retention and cellulite.
Finally, widespread in the environment, the essential oil of fennel has a tonic and stimulating action on the nervous system, promotes concentration and memory and helps keep mosquitoes away.
Contraindications and side effects
The intake of fennel is contraindicated in case of allergies towards one or more components while in the absence of hypersensitivity it rarely gives side effects at therapeutic doses and can in fact also be used to treat disorders of children, pregnant women and during breastfeeding. However, at high doses and for prolonged intakes over time, fennel can interact with some medications and with hormonal therapies.
Greater attention should be paid to essential oil which, taken orally, can be toxic and carcinogenic. The essential oil of fennel applied to the skin can then cause irritation; the essence of fennel is also photosensitizing and therefore should not be applied to the skin before exposure to the sun. In any case, it is good do not use the essential oil beyond two weeks and avoid its administration in pediatric age, during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
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