Pimpinella anisum, also known as anise, has been used as a spice and medicine since antiquity. Pimpinella anisum seeds have a licorice-like flavor.

Historical uses of Pimpinella anisum
Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare, and Pimpinella anisum, are plants which have been used as estrogenic agents for millennia. Specifically, they have been reputed to increase milk secretion, promote menstruation, facilitate birth, alleviate the symptoms of the male climacteric, and increase libido. In the 1930s, some interest was shown in these plants in the development of synthetic estrogens. The main constituent of the essential oils of fennel and Pimpinella anisum, anethole, has been considered to be the active estrogenic agent. However, further research suggests that the actual pharmacologically active agents are polymers of anethole, such as dianethole and photoanethole.
   Another use of Pimpinella anisum has been a smooth muscle relaxer to prevent spasms of the gastrointestinal muscle tissue and relieve minor digestive problems. Pimpinella anisum oils is used to treat lice and scabies in some parts of the world.

Pimpinella anisum Chemical Composition and ingredients
Pimpinella anisum has a number of compounds including anethole ( approximately 90%), gamma-himachalene and glucosides of phenylpropanoids. Anisaldehyde, anethole, estragole, and myrcene derived from Pimpinella anisum seeds are useful as a lead compound to development of new agents for selective control of food mite.

Pimpinella anisum and Tamiflu effect
A team of Japanese researchers has developed a new way of producing the anti-flu drug Tamiflu that does not rely on natural ingredients and may help ensure more stable supplies. Tamiflu, produced by Swiss-based pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG, is considered one of the best defenses against avian flu in humans, and there are fears of a possible shortage in the event of a global flu pandemic. In a finding that may eventually lessen risks of a shortage, Professor Masakatsu Shibasaki of the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences said his team had found a way to make Tamiflu without using shikimic acid, which is produced from a spice called star Pimpinella anisum. By using a chemical ingredient instead, the new method eliminates weather as a risk factor in Tamiflu production

Pimpinella anisum seed as antispasmodic agent
Antispasmodic and relaxant effects of the hidroalcoholic extract of Pimpinella anisum (Apiaceae) on rat anococcygeus smooth muscle.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2006 Sep 6; Departamento de Enfermagem Psiquiatrica e Ciencias Humanas, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirao Preto, Ribeirao Preto, Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Ribeirao Preto, Brazil.
The present work describes the mechanisms involved in the muscle relaxant effect of ethanol:water aerial parts extracts of Pimpinella anisum plant. Three hidroalcoholic extracts were tested for activity in the rat anococcygeus smooth muscle. The three extracts inhibited acetylcholine -induced contraction. Collectively, our results provide functional evidence that the effects elicited by the hidroalcoholic extract of Pimpinella anisum involve the participation of nitric oxide and subsequent activation of the NO-cGMP pathway. The relaxant action displayed by Pimpinella anisum justifies its use in the folk medicine as an antispasmodic agent.

The fruit essential oil of Pimpinella anisum L. (Umblliferae) induces neuronal hyperexcitability in snail partly through attenuation of after-hyperpolarization.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2008 December. Janahmadi M, Farajnia S, Vatanparast J, Abbasipour H, Kamalinejad M. Janahmadi M, Farajnia S, Vatanparast J, Abbasipour H, Kamalinejad M. Neuroscience Research Center and Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University (Medical Campus), P.O. Box 19615-1178, Evin, Tehran, Iran.
Many biological actions of Pimpinella anisum L. (Ainse), including antiepileptic activity have been demonstrated; however, there is no data concerning its precise cellular mechanisms of action. We determined whether the fruit essential oil of anise affect the bioelectrical activity of snail neurons in control condition or after pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) induced epileptic activity. Intracellular recordings were made under the current clamp condition and the effects of anise oil (0.01% or 0.05%) alone or in combination with PTZ were assessed on the firing pattern, action potential configuration and postspike potentials. Pimpinella anisum oil changed the firing pattern from regular tonic discharge to irregular and then to bursting in intact cells or resulted in the robustness of the burst firing and the steepness of the paroxysmal shift induced by PTZ treatment. It also significantly increased the firing frequency and decreased both the after-hyperpolarization potential (AHP) following single action potential and the post-pulse AHP. Likely candidate cellular mechanisms underlying the hyperexcitability produced by Pimpinella anisum oil include enhancement of Ca(2+) channels activity or inhibition of voltage and/or Ca(2+) dependent K(+) channels activity underlying AHPs. These finding indicates that a certain caution is needed when Pimpinella anisum is used for treating patients suffering from epilepsy.

Pimpinella anisum Plant research study
p-Anisaldehyde: acaricidal component of Pimpinella anisum seed oil against the house dust mites Dermatophagoides farinae and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus.
Planta Med. 2004 Mar;70(3):279-81.
The acaricidal activity of Pimpinella anisum seed oil -derived p-anisaldehyde and commercially available components of Pimpinella anisum seed oil was examined against Dermatophagoides farinae and D. pteronyssinus and compared with those of the synthetic acaricides, benzyl benzoate and N,N-diethyl- m-toluamide (DEET). On the basis of LD 50 values, the compound most toxic to D. farinae adults was p-anisaldehyde followed by benzyl benzoate, DEET, 3-carene, and estragol. Against D. pteronyssinus adults, p-anisaldehyde was much more effective than benzyl benzoate, DEET, 3-carene , and estragol. p-Anisaldehyde was about 8.4 and 6.7 times more toxic than benzyl benzoate against D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus adults, respectively. The results suggested that p-anisaldehyde may be useful as a lead compound for the development of new agents for the selective control of house dust mites.

Forms of Pimpinella anisum sold over the counter
You can find Pimpinella anisum cookie, seed and Pimpinella anisum oil in health food stores. Pimpinella anisum tea is also available in some health food stores.

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