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Star anise

Illicium verum Hook.f.

Schisandraceae // fruit

Identity / confusion warning — see Identity

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Uses & evidence

Uses and evidence recorded
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Preparation

infusion/tea, tincture, powder/capsule, extract
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Safety

Safety information available
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Research

No linked research on file
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Overview

Plant parts

fruit

Known constituents

trans-anethole, shikimic acid

Research corpus coverage

Materia medicaPet safety

Chemistry notes

  • CHEMISTRY: Relevant reported constituents include trans-anethole; shikimic acid; constituent presence alone does not establish clinical efficacy.

Uses & Evidence

Traditional / historical use

Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.

  • TRADITIONAL: Star anise has been used for digestive and respiratory complaints; flavoring; 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 (digestive and respiratory complaints; flavoring), the evidence assessment is insufficient: Insufficient clinical evidence for medicinal use.

    LOW · regulatory monograph and mixed scientific literature · WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants

Preparation

Forms used traditionally

infusion/teatincturepowder/capsuleextract

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; traditional and modern forms include infusion/tea, tincture, powder/capsule, extract. 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 Substitution can cause seizures and severe toxicity; oil is concentrated. Contraindications/cautions include Infants; seizure disorders.

    HIGH · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements

  • SAFETY: Clinically relevant interaction concerns include No established major interactions; concentrated oil may add to neurotoxicity.

    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: Food spice differs; medicinal use in pregnancy/lactation unsupported.

    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

  • Possible adulterantJapanese star anise

    FDA warned that Chinese star anise may contain toxic Japanese star anise.

    Why it matters: Contaminated tea was associated with seizures, vomiting, jitteriness, and abnormal eye movements, including illness in infants.

    HIGH · Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition 2003

  • Common-name collisionAnise

    Anise and star anise share an anise flavor/common-name stem but are botanically unrelated.

    MODERATE · GBIF taxonomic backbone and Apothecary corpus identity note

  • Synonym

    GBIF resolves Illicium san-ki Perr. as a synonym of Illicium verum. The older name still appears in herbal and taxonomic literature.

    HIGH · GBIF Species Match API

Botanical synonym

Illicium san-ki Perr.

Taxonomic identity note

  • Star anise is treated here as Illicium verum Hook.f. in the family Schisandraceae; recorded older names include Illicium san-ki Perr..

Sources

Research records are source-linked but may not yet be editorially reviewed.