Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare Mill.Apiaceae // fruit · essential oil
Overview
Plant parts
fruit, essential oil
Known constituents
anethole, fenchone, estragole
Research corpus coverage
Chemistry notes
- CHEMISTRY: Relevant reported constituents include anethole; fenchone; estragole; constituent presence alone does not establish clinical efficacy.
Uses & Evidence
Traditional / historical use
Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.
TRADITIONAL: Fennel has been used for bloating; mild GI spasm; cough; this records historical/traditional use and does not establish efficacy.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph · WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants
Modern evidence
EVIDENCE: For the major use set (bloating; mild GI spasm; cough), the evidence assessment is limited/mixed: Traditional-use support and limited small trials; insufficient robust evidence for most uses.
MODERATE · randomized controlled trial · WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants
Mixed findings, product heterogeneity, or indirect evidence are preserved in the detailed profile.
Preparation
Forms used traditionally
A listed form does not imply it suits every plant part, or that one preparation is interchangeable with another — see the plant’s own notes below.
PREPARATION: The medicinal material is fruit; essential oil; traditional and modern forms include infusion/tea, tincture, powder/capsule, extract, diluted topical essential-oil preparation, inhalation/aromatic preparation. No dose or potency is specified.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries
Preparation-specific evidence should not be generalized across extracts, teas, oils, or whole herb.
Safety
Additional safety notes (general, unstructured)
Free-text safety notes carried from their source — not broken out by species, route, or hazard type, and not equivalent to the structured records above. Each note names the kind of source it came from.
SAFETY: Major issues include Allergy; concentrated oil toxicity; estragole genotoxicity concern. Contraindications/cautions include Apiaceae allergy; hormone-sensitive conditions caution.
HIGH · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements
SAFETY: Clinically relevant interaction concerns include Potential estrogenic and CYP interactions are uncertain.
MODERATE · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements
Some interactions are theoretical or based on case reports/pharmacokinetics rather than outcome trials.
SAFETY: Pregnancy/lactation reference: Avoid concentrated medicinal products in pregnancy/lactation without expert oversight.
MODERATE · regulatory monograph or evidence synthesis · WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants
Absence of evidence is not evidence of safety.
Preparation × species risk matrix
Unknown means insufficient evidence was located — not that a form is safe.
Cats
- tinctureCaution
- concentrated extractUnknown
- essential oilUnknown
- glyceriteUnknown
- infused oilUnknown
- salveUnknown
- smoke/combustionUnknown
- tea/infusionUnknown
- whole herbUnknown
Dogs
- tinctureCaution
- concentrated extractUnknown
- essential oilUnknown
- glyceriteUnknown
- infused oilUnknown
- salveUnknown
- smoke/combustionUnknown
- tea/infusionUnknown
- whole herbUnknown
Identity
Botanical synonym
Anethum foeniculum L.
Taxonomic identity note
- Fennel is treated here as Foeniculum vulgare Mill. in the family Apiaceae; recorded older names include Anethum foeniculum L..
Sources
Research records are source-linked but may not yet be editorially reviewed.
WHO monograph
NIH LiverTox monograph
- Plants of the World Online1 claim
botanical taxonomy database
EMA monograph