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Fennel
Fennel are widely used in many of the
culinary traditions of the world. Fennel seeds are
sometimes confused with aniseed, which is very similar in taste
and appearance, though smaller. In India, it is common to chew
fennel seed (or saunf) as a mouth-freshener. Fennel is also used
as a flavouring in some natural toothpastes. Some people employ
it as a diuretic; while others have used it to improve the milk
supply of breastfeeding mothers, it has shown neurotoxicity in
certain cases where the mother ingested it as an herbal tea to
enhance her breast milk.
Many cultures in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East
incorporate fennel seed into their culinary traditions. It is an
essential ingredient in the Bengali/Oriya spice mixture panch
phoron and in Chinese five-spice powders. It is known as saunf
or mauti saunf in Hindi and Urdu, mouri in Bengali, and shombu
or peruncheeragam in Tamil language. In the west, fennel seed is
a very common ingredient in Italian sausages and northern
European rye breads.
Medical uses
Essential oil of sweet Fennel is included in some
pharmacopoeias. It is traditionally used in medicine to treat
chills and stomach problems (carminative, antimicrobal action
and so on). Fennel leaves can be boiled, the steam inhaled to
relieve croup, asthma, and bronchitis. Fennel contains Anethole,
an antispasmatic, alongside other pharmacologically active
substances.
In Ancient Greek, fennel was called Marathon (meaning place of
fennel), site of the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC; In
Greek mythology, Prometheus used the stalk of a fennel plant to
steal fire from the gods.
In medieval times fennel was used in conjunction with St John's
wort to keep away witchcraft and other evil things. This
practice may have originated from fennel's use as an insect
repellent.
Fennel is thought to be one of the nine herbs held sacred by the
Anglo-Saxons. The other eight are not entirely certain, but were
probably mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), greater plantain (Plantago
major), watercress (Nasturtium officinale), wild chamomile (Matricaria
recutita), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), crab apple (Malus
sylvestris), chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium), and viper's
bugloss (Echium vulgare).
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