Fennel Seed Extract

Fennel Seed Extract

Extract from Foeniculum vulgare

Evidence: Emerging

Fennel seed has been chewed after meals for centuries, from the Mediterranean to South Asia, for its clean, soothing finish. Its seeds are rich in aromatic compounds, including fenchone and anethole, the carminative volatiles traditionally valued for easing that heavy, full feeling and the occasional gas that can follow eating.

We use a standardised fennel seed extract to bring this time-honoured digestive botanical into the formula in a consistent, concentrated form. Contemporary research is exploring how its plant compounds interact with the digestive tract, and while that science is still maturing, fennel's long record as an after-meal comfort herb is hard to ignore.

PubMed indexes over 1,600 peer-reviewed papers on fennel.

Selected study

Noreen S, Tufail T, Bader Ul Ain H, Awuchi CG. Pharmacological, nutraceutical, functional and therapeutic properties of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). International Journal of Food Properties. 2023;26(1):915-927. doi:10.1080/10942912.2023.2192436

Study summary

Study type: Narrative review collating laboratory work, animal models and the limited human trials on fennel seeds, essential oil and extracts.

Observed benefits:

• Traditional carminative use is associated with easing of bloating and a full, heavy feeling in small studies.
• Plant compounds show antioxidant activity in laboratory settings.

Mechanisms: Aromatic terpenes and polyphenols are studied for their relaxing effect on digestive smooth muscle and their antioxidant activity.

Safety: Regarded as safe at culinary and supplemental doses, with mild digestive upset the most common report.

Evidence strength: Promising but preliminary, resting largely on traditional use, laboratory work and small human studies.