Properties: Warm, acrid, slightly sweet
Meridans Entered:
Primary: Stomach, Spleen, Liver, Gallbladder, Lungs, Intestines, Heart
Traditional Actions/Indications:
- Warms the Middle Jiao and expels Cold
Indigestion, flatulence, bloating
Nausea, diarrhoea
Stomach or abdominal cramps, spasms and pain
- Warms and transform Cold Phlegm
Lung mucus, cough, bronchitis, head cold
- Regulates Qi
Spasmodic cough, asthma
Dysmenorrhoea, painful periods
- Calms the Shen (use as essential oil)
Insomnia, resteless, worry, palpitations
Restless babies
- Promotes lactation
Lactation deficiency
Suggested Daily Dosage: 3-9g in decoction.
Cautions: Do not use during pregnancy. Very rarely sensitisation has been observed with repeated use.
Notable Constituents:
- Estragole
Phenylpropanoid with the odour of anise that has been identified as genotoxic and carcinogenic. target="_blank">European Medicines Agency recommends to limit safe exposure to 1 mg/person/day. It is insoluble in water so is primarily a concern in ground herbs or ethanol extracts. Anise has a maximum of 0.2% estragole content.
Notes:
Information is taken from https://www.therapeutika.ch/Pimpinella+anisum.
Does not appear in any formulae listed on this site
Research Links & References: (click to display)
Research Links:
Reference Notes:
Individual herb information has sourced mainly from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes. Zhou, Xie and Yan (2011): Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Vol. 5, has been used for entries not available from those sources with additional material searched for and filled in where available. Western herbs not appearing in the Chinese literature have used Ross (2010): Combining Western Herbs and Chinese Medicine: A Clinical Materia Medica, White Rabbit Institute of Healing and therapeutika.ch. Choices of which source to use or combine have been my own.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted. Actions and indications are taken from traditional uses and do not necessarily reflect the evidence base which should be researched independently. Dosages are for guidance only and will vary dependening on the potency of the batch and the tolerance of the individual so should be evaluated by a professional based on individual needs.
