Dried Fennel Seeds and Its Health Benefits
What is the fennel seeds?
Planted for its delicious seeds, stems, and leaves, fennel is a perennial herb belonging to the carrot family Apiaceae. Originating in southern Europe and Asia Minor, fennel grows in temperate regions worldwide and is considered an invasive plant in parts of Australia and the United States. The blanched branches of the Florence fennel (variety azoricum) are eaten as vegetables, and the stem base has a bulb-like appearance. The plant’s fragrant components are used to season meals in all forms. The seeds and extracted oil are used to flavor foods including pastries, sweet pickles, liqueurs, desserts, and fish. They have an anise-like perfume and flavor.
The cultivated plant reaches a height of around one meter (three feet) and is characterized by stalks with finely divided leaves into many linear or awl-shaped segments. Tiny yellow blossoms adorn the grayish complex umbels. The tiny, dry fruits range in hue from greenish brown to yellowish brown and have five prominent longitudinal dorsal ridges. Their length is around 6 mm, or 0.25 inches. The primary components of the 3-4% essential oil (EO) in the seeds are anethole and fenchone.1.
Benefits of fennel for health
Advantages for digestive health
Packed with fiber, fennel seeds have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities. Fennel seeds are the little, licorice-flavored seeds that are produced by the fennel plant. Rich in nutrients, they may help with bloating, constipation, and stomach issues. Fennel seeds are nature’s finest remedy for flatulence. Bloating and gas are mostly caused by two factors: air in the stomach and the fermentation of some food fiber by gut bacteria. The antibacterial characteristics of fennel seeds may help to reduce gut infections if your flatulence is the result of food poisoning or intolerance. Fennel may also prevent germs that cause dysbiosis and gastrointestinal illnesses, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Additionally, it includes anethole, which may help relieve intestinal tension and pain. More relaxed intestines are better at sending gas and waste out the other end.2.
Anti-inflammatory qualities
The vegetable fennel is rich in minerals that act as antioxidants, such as vitamin C and plant flavonoids like quercetin, which have anti-inflammatory properties. Research indicates that eating a wide variety of meals raises the risk of getting a number of chronic illnesses.3.
Characteristics of antioxidants
The extract of the plant contains over 87 volatile compounds, which include the polyphenol antioxidants quercetin, apigenin, rosmarinic acid, and chlorogenic acid. Anti-inflammatory polyphenol antioxidants play a major role in your general well-being. The oxidative stress caused by free radicals may be prevented in the eyes by antioxidants such vitamin C and flavonoids, which are present in fennel. By doing this, the risk of cataract development, age-related macular degeneration, and other eye disorders may be decreased.4
Possible anti-tumor effects
It’s possible that fennel seeds help stop carcinogenesis, or the growth of cancer. Fennel seeds may have anticancer properties since they eradicate cancer cells in mice. Fennel is thus a natural source of compounds that have anticancer properties.5.
Rich in minerals that safeguard your health
Studies show that fennel has health-promoting antioxidants as well as antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. It is not shocking. Still, fennel has a long history of use as a medicine for a number of ailments pertaining to the reproductive, digestive, endocrine, and pulmonary systems. It has also long been used as a milk stimulant for nursing mothers and fathers.
Eliminate breath odor
Fennel seeds have a special aromatic essential oil with antibacterial qualities that might help freshen breath. The delicious fennel seeds increase saliva production and help destroy harmful bacteria. It is a simple and useful home remedy for bad breath. Easier breathing may be achieved by taking five to ten fennel seeds.
Assist in controlling blood pressure
Fennel seeds contain a lot of potassium, a mineral that aids with blood volume management. It helps to keep the heart rate and blood pressure stable. It has been shown that nitrite, a naturally occurring chemical that controls blood pressure, is increased in salivary glands by fennel seeds.