Abstract
Star anise (Illicium verum Hook. f.) is an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine as well as traditional Asian medicine. The fruit is aromatic and has a strong, pungent and mildly sweet taste. Star anise is one of the many species that contain bioactive compounds as well as a number of phenolic and flavonoid compounds, having antioxidant, preservative and antimicrobial properties. All relevant papers in the English language from researchers of different countries were collected. The keywords of Chinese star anise, anise, traditional Chinese medicine and modern pharmaceutical science were searched in Google Scholar, Scopus, Research Gate and PubMed. Its seeds are good source of minerals like calcium, iron, copper, potassium, manganese, zinc, and magnesium. The essential oil of Chinese star anise contains anethole which has shown several functional properties including antimicrobial, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic and oestrogenic properties. Due to all positive characteristics, such as antidiabetic, hypolipidemic, antioxidant activities, anticancer and antimicrobial properties, both seeds and essential oils of anise is promising for safe use as super food supplements and raw constituents in the both pharmaceutical and food industries. Anise seed oil contains anethol, estragole, eugenol, pseudisoeugenol, methyl chavicol and anisaldehyde, coumarins, scopoleting, umbelliferon, estrols, terpene hydrocarbons, and polyacetylenes as the major compounds. The plant oil has both pharmacological and clinical effects. The pharmacological effects consist of antimicrobial, hepatopreotective, anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, bronchodilator, estrogenic, expectorant and insecticidal effects, and clinical effects such as nausea, constipation, menopausal period, virus, diabetes, obesity and sedative action. Combined with a nutritious diet, other traditional Chinese and Asian medicine, Chinese star anise and ansie seed may improve various aspects of health. More clinical studies are necessary to uncover the numerous substances and their effects in ginseng that contribute to public health.
 Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. June 2019, 5(3): 162-179
Highlights
The ancient Chinese have identified 11,146 medicinal species from 383 families, and more than 400 of which widely used through the world, which means that China is the native home to a greater diversity of the world’s herbal plants than any other regions in the world
Khudor et al (2013) mentioned that Pimpinella anisum and some antibiotics by disc diffusion methods and minimum inhibitory concentration, the results showed these bacterial isolates were sensitive to the aqueous extract compared with methanol, acetone and petroleum ether and were more sensitive to vancomycin compared with other antibiotics
Sharifi et al (2008) reported that anise is commercially cultivated in Iran and has been used in medicinal applications; their oil can be effective for protection of fresh fruits facing fungi and its essential oil can be considered as a potential, broad spectrum and safe substitute of chemical agents
Summary
The ancient Chinese have identified 11,146 medicinal species from 383 families, and more than 400 of which widely used through the world, which means that China is the native home to a greater diversity of the world’s herbal plants than any other regions in the world. Vecchio et al (2016) noted that Pimpinella anisum (anised or green anise) and Illicium verum (Chinese star anise or star anise) are both under the name of anise, but each one presents different functional and botanical characteristics Both Chinese star anise and anise have been widely used in Iranian traditional medicine for antimicrobial effects (Yazdani et al, 2009). Parsa et al, (2012) reported that Chinese star anise is used extensively in the both Indian diet and medicine because it does not have any adverse influence and absorbs They have found that the oil of star anise is stimulant, stomachic, carminative, mildy expectorant and diuretic.
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