“Sweet and licorice-like.

Like so many of the herbs that we associate with food, Fennel is often employed as a general stomach tonic. Most of the actions are attributed to the internal use of the whole seed. Fennel is most often employed to aid digestion and as a carminative. Fennel is used by women to induce menstruation, ease cramps, aid labor and increase milk flow. Can be used as an inhalant to ease breathing conditions of nervous origin. Fennel can be applied in massage to relax muscles.

The University of Allahabad, India and St Thomas’s Hospital, London, UK conducted some work to determine the anti-fungal properties of some essential oils. ‘Foeniculum vulgare exhibited the strongest activity, completely inhibiting the mycelial growth of the nail-infective fungi, Trichophyton rubrum, T. mentagrophytes and Scytalidium dimidiatum.’

T. rubrum is the culprit in around 80% of fungal nail infections, followed by T. mentagrophytes. They both invade keratinized tissues and produce a yellowed nail that is thickened and brittle. Studies showed that Fennel essential oil was effective at 0.2, 0.4 and 0.5 ul/ml concentrations and that a concentration of 5% did not have an adverse affect on mammalian skin.
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