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Foeniculum vulgare Mill. A Medicinal Herb

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DOI: 10.5376/mpr.2014.04.0006

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Medicinal Plant Research 2014, Vol.4, No.6, 46-54
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Research Report Open Access

Foeniculum vulgare Mill. A Medicinal Herb
Musharaf Khan1 , Shahana Musharaf2
1. Department of Botany, Federal Government College Mardan, Pakistan
2. Government Girls Degree College Sheikh Maltoon, Mardan, Pakistan
Corresponding author email: k.musharaf@gmail.com; Authors
Medicinal Plant Research, 2014, Vol.4, No.6 doi: 10.5376/mpr.2014.04.0006
Received: 24 Mar., 2014
Accepted: 11 Apr., 2014
Published: 24 Apr., 2014
Copyright © 2014 Khan and Musharaf. This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Khan and Musharaf, 2014, Foeniculum vulgare Mill. A Medicinal Herb (A Review), Pakistan, Vol.4, No.6 46-54 (doi: 10.5376/mpr.2014.04. 0006)

Abstract Foeniculum vulgare .Mill. commonly known as Fennel belonging to the family Apiaceae, is a small, erect and aromatic
herb. A number of chemical constituents and various therapeutic effects of this herb have been reported by different workers.
Extensive investigations have been carried out on different parts of herb and as a consequence, varied classes of compounds fatty
acids, hydrocarbons and sterols, Furocoumarins; (imperatorin, psoralen, bergapten, xanthotoxin and isopimpinellin), Flavonoids;
(isorhamnetin 3-O-α-rhamnoside, quercetin and kaempferol) and quercetin; (3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside and quercetin
3-O- β-glucoside) have been isolated. So, it has been used in ethnomedicine to exploit its medicinal properties including antioxidant,
anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antifungal, antibacterial, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities. The presented
review summarizes the information about the ethnopharmacology, toxicity, phytochemistry and biological activity of F. vulgare.
Keywords Foeniculum vulgare; Phytochemistry; Biological; Ethnomedicine evaluations

Background cultivated and adventive; 200~2600 m. (native to the

Foeniculum vulgare belongs to the family Apiaceae
and locally known as saunf is an annual, biennial or
perennial aromatic herb, depending on the variety,
which has been known since antiquity in Europe and
Asia Minor. The leaves, stalks and seeds (fruits) of the
plant are edible. The plant is an aromatic herb whose
fruits are oblong, ellipsoid or cylindrical, straight or
slightly curved, greenish or yellowish brown in colour.
Each fruit weighs between 6 and 7 mg, has
conspicuous vittae, is about 6 mm long and 2 mm
wide in central portion. It is grown almost all over the
world both as an ornamental and as a seed crop. It can
be grown on marginal land and is considered tolerant
to various insect pests and diseases. It is well known
for having medicinal properties and it is specially used
as a remedy measure for flatulence. Although the
fennel crop in Pakistan is not grown on commercial
scale, yet on account of its medicinal value, the
farmers almost all over Pakistan grow on a small scale
for their domestic use only. The produce obtained
from such small scale cultivation is not sufficient to
meet the country requirements and to meet the gap
between production and demand (Ayub et al., 2008). F.
vulgare grows wildly in the Mediterranean coastal
strip, Egypt (Tackholm, l974). Throughout China it is
46
Mediterranean region; cultivated and adventive
worldwide) (Hui xiang, 2005). It has been widely used
as a folk remedy by the native people for treatment of
various inflammatory ailments. Chemically, Foeniculum
species are characterized by the presence of essential
oils (Ozbek et al., 2003), sterols (Ivanov et al., 1979),
coumarins (El-Khrisy et al., 1980; Kwon et al., 2002)
and flavonoids (Kunzemann et al., 1977; Parejo et al.,
2004). Certain bioactivities have been attributed to
some Foeniculum species; viz, antioxidant and
antimicrobial activities for F. vulgare Mill. aerial parts
(Ruberto et al., 2000), anti-inflammatory and
analgesic activities for the fruits of the same plant
(Eun and Jae, 2004). Volatiles reported from the fruits
of F. vulgare comprise anethol, methyl chavicol,
fenchone and limonene (Muckensturm et al., 1997), as
well as piperitenone and piperitenone oxi-de (Badoc et
al., 1994). Chlorogenic acid (Ishikawa et al., 1999),
caffeic acid and cynarin (Scarpati, 1957) have also
been isolated from the plant. Much work has recently
been done on the yield and composition of both
extracts and volatile oils of fennel of several varieties
from several locations (Akgül and Bayrak, 1988;
Arslan et al., 1989; Embong et al., 1977; Katsiotis,
1988; Miura et al., 1986; Venskutonis et al., 1996;
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Verghese, 1988). The purpose of this review was to
summarizes the information concerning the botany,
ethnopharmacology query, phytochemistry, biological
activity and toxicity of F. vulgare plant.
Description
Plants; 0.4~2 m. Lower petioles; 5~15 cm, blade
broadly triangular in outline; 4–30 cm×5–40 cm,
4–5-pinnatisect; ultimate segments linear, 1–6 mm×
0.1 mm. Umbels; 5–9 cm across, peduncles; 2~
25 cm, rays; 6–29 (–40), unequal, 1.5–10 cm,
umbellules; 14–39-flowered, pedicels; thin, 2–10
mm, unequal. Fruit; 4–6 (–10)×1.5–2.2 (–2.5) mm.
Flowering period; May~June.
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom Plantae
Subkingdom Tracheobionta
Division Magnoliophyta
Class Magnoliopsida
Subclass Rosidae
Order Apiales
Family Apiaceae
Genus Foeniculum P. Mill.
Species Foeniculum vulgare P. Mill.
Common Names: Fennel, saunf, Adas landi, Adas
londa, Anis Vert, Anis, Comino,
Part Used: Whole herb
Source
Foeniculum vulgare, Mill. is apparently indigenous to
the shores of the Mediterranean, extending eastwards,
but is cultivated for medicinal use in the south of
France, in Saxony and Wurtemberg in Russia and
Galacia, and also in India and Japan. Like other
aromatic Umbelliferous fruits, fennel was well known
to the ancients, and was largely used in Europe during
the middle ages. For medicinal use Saxon, Russia
Galician or Roumanian fruits are to be preferred, as it
has been shown that they yield most volatile oil, and
that the latter contains fenchone (Greenish, 1999).
47
Description of the Fruit
Fennel fruits occur in several commercial varieties,
varying considerably in size and appearance. Saxon
fruits, which may be regarded as the best, are of
greenish or yellowish brown colour, and oblong in
shape, varying from 8 to 10 mm in length, and
3~4 mm in width. The mericarp frequently remain
united and attached to a pedicel. They are glabrous,
and bear five paler, very prominent, primary ridges. In
a transverse section four large vittae can be distinguished
by the naked eye on the dorsal surface, and two on the
commissural surface of each mericarp; the endosperm
is dark in colour, oily, and not deeply grooved. They
have an aromatic odour, recalling anise, and a sweet,
camphoraceous taste (Greenish, 1999).
Histology of Fennel
The epidermis is composed of polygonal tabular cells
about to 15~30 µ in length and width; it contains
occasional stomata and the cuticle is not striated. The
mesocarp contains much thickened and lignified
parenchyma in the region of the vascular strands of
the ribes. These thickened cells have large oval or
rounded pits, the bands of thickening between them
giving a reticulate appearance to the walls. The
remaining parenchyma of the mesocarp is composed
of ordinary polyhedral cellulosic cells. The vitae are
about 250µ in maximum width and taper towards base
and apex of the fruits; the walls are brown and each
duct is divided in to chambers by transverse partitions.
The vitae are lined by an epithelium of small
polygonal–tubular cells. The endocarp consists of
narrow elongated cells having a parquetry arrangement
and appearing in transverse sections of the fruit as
long narrow rectangular cells here and there groups
are very short cells, owing to the different directions
in which the groups of cells in the parquetry have been
cut. The endosperms have the structure characteristic
of umbelliferous fruits in general (Wallis, 1985).
Adulteration
Fennel, said to be specially subjected to admixture
with exhausted fruits. These include the fruits partially
exhausted of their oil by distillation in a current of
alcohol vapour in liqueur making, as well as the
residues obtained after distillation with water or in a
current of steam. Fruits exhausted by water or steam
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are darker, contain less oil, and sink at once in water,
but those exhausted by alcohol vapour retain 1.0 to
2.0 % of oil, and are but little alter altered in
appearance; they acquire, however, a peculiar fusel-oil
odour. Recoloured fennel can be detected by rubbing
the fruits between the hands (Greenish, 1999).
Production and Commerce
Fennel is cultivated on large scale in Saxony, Germany,
Spain, Italy, Russia, Rumania, France, India, Japan,
and to lesser extent in a garden herb in this country. It
thrives best in well drained garden soil which has been
limed. It is propagated from fruits sown directly in the
field after preparation of the ground or sowing in seed
beds first and later transferring seedlings to the field.
The seedlings should stand about 15 inches apart in
rows with ample space left between these for
cultivation. The fruits are collected similarly to those
of anise and packed in bags for shipment (Youngken,
1936).
German fennel is shipped largely through Hamburg,
Roumanian Fennel through Hamburg and Trieste,
Italian Fennel through Naples and Siaeca, French
Fennel from Marseilles, Levant from Trieste, and
Indian Fennel through Bambay and London. There is
quite difference between these fennels. The German
large is preferred. It is green in colour. The French,
Italian, Levant, and Indian Fennels are yellow. The
Romanian is small green fruit which is not highly
prized (Youngken, 1936).
Availability
It can be an annual, biennial or perennial plant and is
native to the Mediterranean areas (Piccaglia and
Marotti, 2001). It is grown in the temperate and sub
tropical areas of Pakistan up to an altitude of 2000 m and
cultivated as an annual crop. Principal fennel producing
countries include India, Argentina, China, Indonesia,
Russia, Japan and Pakistan (Volak and Stodola, 1998).
Ethnobotany
According to Shah and Khan (2006) the vernacular
name is sonf, family is Apiaceae, part used is leaves
and seeds and it is used as antidiabetics.
Uses
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), Family Apiaceae
48
is a short-lived aromatic and medicinal herb,
indigenous to Europe and cultivated in India, China
and Egypt. Choi and Hwang stated that fennel had
anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant activities.
The dried, aromatic fruits are widely employed in
culinary preparations for flavouring bread and pastry,
in candies and in alcoholic liqueurs of French type, as
well as in cosmetic and medicinal preparations
(Farrell, 1985; Hansel et al., 1993). Fennel and its
herbal drug preparations are used for dyspeptic
complaints such as mild, spasmodic gastric-intestinal
complaints, bloating and flatulence. It is also used for
the catarrh of the upper respiratory tract (Czygane et
al., 1989; Maduas, 1976; Merkes, 1980; Forster et al.,
1983; Weib, 1991). The seeds of this plant have been
known as a promoter of menstruation, to alleviate the
symptoms of female climacteric and increase libido
(Albert-Puleo, 1980). It has been reported that fennel
essential oil is used in the pediatric colic and some
respiratory disorders due to its anti-spasmodic effects
(Reynold, 1980). The stem, leaves, and fruit are
commonly used as the dietary herb “xiao hui xiang” in
traditional Chinese medicine to aid digestion. The
leaves are used for flavoring and the fruits are used as
a spice (fennel) (Hui xiang, 2005). Fennel
(Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) belonging to the family
Umbelliferae (Apiaceae) is a well-known aromatic
and medicinal herb. It is carminative and commonly
used to flavor liquors, bread, fish, salad, soups,
cheese and in manufacturing of pickles, perfumes,
soaps, cosmetics and cough drops (Tanira et al., 1996;
Beaux et al., 1997; Garcia-Jamenz et al., 2000; Patra
et al., 2002), while Indians and Egyptians knew it as
culinary species (Farooqi et al., 1993).
Vegetative parts of the plant are used as a green salad
while fruits have a pleasant, spicy odour and burning
sweet taste, and have pharmaceutical, perfumery and
food flavouring used. Fennel fruits contain 1%~3%
volatile oils, which have disinfectant and
anti-inflammatory action, primarily on the respiratory
and digestive organs and have an antispasmodic effect
on smooth muscle (Stary and Jirasek, 1975).
Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of fennel has
also been reported (Ruberto et al., 2000).
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Constituents
Trans-Anethole, fenchone, methylchavicol, limonene,
α-pinene, camphene, β-pinene, β-myrcene, α-phellandrene,
3-carene, camphor, cis-anethole, 1,8-cineole, 3-carene,
5-methoxypsoralen, 8-methoxypsoralen, Alanine,
Alpha-pinene, Alpha-terpinene, Alpha-terpineol,
Alpha-thujene, Alpha-phellandrene, Aluminum,
Anisaldehyde, Anisic-acid, Anisic-ketone, Apiole,
Arachidates, Arginine, Ascorbic-acid, Aspartic-acid,
Avicularin, Benzoic-acid, Bergapten, Beta-phellandrene,
Beta-carotene, Beta-sitosterol, Beta-pinene, Boron,
Caffeic-acid, Calcium, Camphene, Camphor,
Ceryl-alcohol, Choline, Chromium, Cinnamic-acid,
Cis-anethole, Cis-ocimene, Citric-acid, Cobalt,
Columbianetin Copper, Cynarin, Cystine, D-limonene,
Dianethole, Dillapiol, Dipentene, EO, Estragole,
Fenchone, Fenchyl-alcohol, Ferulic-acid, Fumaric-acid,
Gamma- terpinene, Gamma-tocotrienol, Gentisic-acid,
Glutamic-acid, Glycine, Glycollic- acid, Histidine,
Imperatorin, Iodine, Isoleucine, Isopimpinellin,
Isoquercitrin, Kaempferol, Kaempferol-3-arabinoside,
Kaempferol-3-glucuronide, L-limonene, Limonene,
Linalool, Linoleic-acid, Magnesium, Malic-acid,
Manganese, Marmesin, Methionine, Methyl-chavicol,
Myrcene, Myristicin, Nickel,O-coumaric-acid,
Oleic-acid, Osthenol, P-cymene, P-hydroxybenzoic-acid,
P-coumaric-acid, P-hydroxycinnamic-acid, Palmitic-acid,
Pectin, Petroselinic-acid, Phenylalanine, Phosphorus,
Photoantheole, Potassium, Proline, Protocatechuic-acid,
Psoralen, Quercetin, Quercetin-3-l-arabinoside,
Quercetin-3-arabinoside, Quercetin-3-glucuronide,
Quinic-acid, Riboflavin, Rutin, Sabinene, Scoparone,
Scopoletin, Selenium, Serine, Seselin, Shikimic-acid,
Silicon, Sinapic-acid, Stigmasterol, Stigmasterol-palmitate,
Syringic-acid, Tartaric-acid, Terpinen-4-ol, Terpinolene,
Thiamin, Threonine, Tin, Tocopherol, Trans-ocimene,
Trans-anethole Trans-1,8-terpin, Trigonelline, Tryptophan,
Tyrosine, Umbelliferone, Urease, Valine, Vanillic-acid,
Vanillin, Xanthotoxin, Zinc (Lawrence, 1994; Bernath
et al., 1996; Simandi et al., 1999; Ozcan et al., 2001).
Pharmacology
A). Antifungal activity
The influence of different hydrodistillation conditions
was evaluated from the standpoint of essential oil
yield, chemical composition and antifungal activity
49
from seeds of F. vulgare Mill. Three hydrodistillation
conditions were considered. The main constituents of
the oils were: (E)-anethole (72.27%~74.18%), fenchone
(11.32%~16.35%) and methyl chavicol (3.78%~
5.29%). The method of distillation significantly
effected the essential oil yield and quantitative
composition, although the antifungal activity of the
oils against some fungi was only slightly altered
(Mimica-Dukid et al., 2003).
The chemical composition of the flower and unripe
and ripe fruits from fennel (bitter) (F. vulgare ssp.
piperitum) has been examined by gas chromatography
and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The main
identified components of the flower and unripe and
ripe fruit oils were estragole (53.08%, 56.11%, and
61.08%), fenchone (13.53%, 19.18%, and 23.46%),
and alpha-phellandrene (5.77%, 3.30%, and 0.72%),
respectively. Minor qualitative and major quantitative
variations for some compounds of essential oils were
determined with respect to the different parts of F.
vulgare. The oils exerted varying levels of antifungal
effects on the experimental mycelial growth of
Alternaria alternata, Fusarium oxysporum, and
Rhizoctonia solani. The 40 ppm concentrations of
fennel oils showed inhibitory effect against mycelial
growth of A. alternaria, whereas 10 ppm levels were
ineffective. The analyses show that fennel oils
exhibited different degrees of fungistatic activity
depending on the doses (Ozcan et al., 2006). The
influence of different hydrodistillation conditions was
evaluated from the standpoint of essential oil yield,
chemical composition and antifungal activity from
seeds of F. vulgare. Three hydrodistillation conditions
were considered. The main constituents of the oils
were: (E)-anethole (72.27%~74.18%), fenchone
(11.32%~16.35%) and methyl chavicol (3.78%~
5.29%). The method of distillation significantly
effected the essential oil yield and quantitative
composition, although the antifungal activity of the oils
against some fungi was only slightly altered (Mimica
et al., 2003).
B). Antibacterial activity
Essential oils were extracted from the fruits of
Coriandrum sativum L. and F. vulgare and assayed in
vitro for antibacterial activity to Escherichia coli and
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Bacillus megaterium, bacteria routinely used for
comparison in the antimicrobial assays, and 27
phytopathogenic bacterial species and two
mycopathogenic ones responsible for cultivated
mushroom diseases. A significant antibacterial activity,
as determined with the agar diffusion method, was
shown by C. sativum essential oil whereas a much
reduced effect was observed for F. vulgare oil. C.
sativum and F. vulgare essential oils may be useful
natural bactericides for the control of bacterial
diseases of plants and for seed treatment, in particular,
in organic agriculture. The significant antibacterial
activity of essential oils to the bacterial pathogens of
mushrooms appears promising (Lo Cantore et al. 2004).
A phenyl propanoid derivative, dillapional (1) was
found to be a antimicrobial principle of the stems of F.
vulgare with MIC values of 125, 250 and 125/ against
Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus niger and Cladosporium
cladosporioides, respectively. A coumarin derivative,
scopoletin (2) was also isolated as marginally
antimicrobial agent along with inactive compounds,
dillapiol (3), bergapten (4), imperatorin (5) and
psolaren (6) from this plant. The isolates 1-6 were not
active against the Escherichia coli (Kwon et al., 2002).
C). Antioxidant activity
GC and GC–MS analysis of F. vulgare volatile oil
showed the presence of 35 components containing
96.4% of the total amount. The major component was
trans-anethole (70.1%). The analysis of its acetone
extract showed the presence of nine components
accounting for 68.9% of the total amount. Linoleic
acid (54.9%), palmitic acid (5.4%) and oleic acid
(5.4%) were found as major components in extract.
The antifungal and antioxidative potentials were also
carried out by different techniques. In inverted
petriplate method, the volatile oil showed complete
zone inhibition against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus
flavus, Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium
moniliforme at 6 μL dose. It was found to be effective
for A. niger even at 4 μL dose. Moreover, using food
poison technique, the volatile oil and extract both
showed good to moderate zone of inhibition. The
antioxidant value was evaluated by measuring
peroxide and thiobarbituric acid values for linseed oil
at fixed time intervals. Both, the volatile oil and
50
extract showed strong antioxidant activity in
comparison with butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and
butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). In addition, their
inhibitory action in linoleic acid system was studied
by monitoring peroxide accumulation in emulsion
during incubation through ferric thiocyanate method.
The results were well correlated with the above results
(Singh et al., 2006).
The essential oils obtained from Crithmum
maritimum L. (marine fennel) and two samples of F.
vulgare (common fennel) were analysed by GC and
GC-MS and assayed for their antioxidant and
antibacterial activities. The antioxidant activity of
the oils was evaluated by two lipid model systems: a
modified thiobarbituric acid reactive species
(TBARS) assay and a spectrophotometric detection of
hydroperoxydienes from linoleic acid in a micellar
system. The oils demonstrated antioxidant capacities,
comparable in some cases to that of alpha-tocopherol
and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), used as
reference antioxidants. Concerning the antimicrobial
tests the essential oils were assayed against
twenty-five genera of bacteria, including animal and
plant pathogens, food poisoning and spoilage bacteria.
Oils from the two samples of F. vulgare showed a
higher and broader degree of inhibition than that of C.
maritimum (Roberto et al., 2000).
Herbicidal Activity
Bell et al. (2008) reported that fennel is a major
invasive plant in many lower elevation natural areas in
coastal California. Three identical field experiments
were conducted to evaluate glyphosate and triclopyr
for control of fennel. Treatments included each
herbicide applied alone and in various combinations.
they also compared broadcast applications to spot
spraying of individual fennel plants because spot
spraying is a commonly used technique in natural area
weed management. Most treatments controlled fennel
well when evaluated 6 wk and 1 yr after treatment,
with the exception of the lowest rate of glyphosate.
Purple needlegrass, a native perennial grass, was
present in two of the sites. In most, but not all,
treatment and site combinations, it was not
significantly harmed by the herbicides. The spot spray
applications were less effective and used more
herbicide per unit area than the broadcast spraying.
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Genetics
The use of cytological and, especially, nuclear DNA
and cpDNA molecular analyses in assessing the
genetic stability or instability of organogenesis and
somatic embryogenesis-derived plants of one fennel (F.
vulgare) donor plant belonging to Francia Pernod
population, was evaluated. Different morphogenic
callus types and both organogenic and embryogenic
plants showed the normal diploid chromosome
number. All regenerated plant types, when examined
by RAPD analyses did not show any nuclear DNA
polymorphism. No variation was detected in these
plants independently from their morphogenic origin in
two cpDNA regions which exhibited the same length,
base sequence and restriction profiles. Moreover, the
study of a cpDNA microsatellite region including a
single Art repeat did not reveal any variation of the
repeat numbers in these regenerated plants. These
results on the genetic stability and uniformity of
organogenic and embryogenic regenerated fennel
plants was supported also by a comparison of the
cpDNA microsatellite region with other natural fennel
plants where variations were found in some of them
except Francia Pernod (Bennici et al., 2004).
The composition of hexane extract constituents of ripe
mericarps ("achenes") of eleven indigenous populations
of F. vulgare was studied. Natural populations were
selected along a gradient of annual rainfall from ca.
1000 mm in the northern region down to 125 mm in
the Negev desert. Eighteen constituents, with estragole,
TRANS-anethole, fenchone, limonene and alpha-pinene
as the major components were separated by GC-MS.
Characterized by the level of estragole and
TRANS-anethole, four different groups were obtained:
(1) Highest estragole (63%) and the lowest
TRANS-ane-thole (3%) characterized the population
of Mt. Meron; (2) estra-gole (39%~47%) and
TRANS-anethole (17%~29%) in 3 mountainous
populations; (3) estragole (21%~29%) and
TRANS- anethole (38%~49%) in the coastal and
lowland populations; (4) two exceptional populations
with the lowest content of estragole (ca.8%) and high
content of TRANS-anethole (55% and 74%). A
reversed association between the content of estragole
and TRANS-anethole suggests a common precursor.
51
In habitats with a high precipitation, the content of
estragole was high and that of TRANS-anethole was
low, and vice versa under limited rainfall. It is
proposed that the composition of oleoresins of F.
vulgare var. vulgare could be governed by
environmental conditions. Never-theless, it is not
ruled out that genetic variations account for the
recorded differences (Oz Barazani et al., 1999).
Zahid et al. (2009) reported that F. vulgare is an
important, well-known aromatic and medicinal herb.
Fifty accessions of fennel were collected from
different parts of Pakistan and evaluated for important
characteristics like seed germination percentage
(ger %), days to initiation of flowering, plant height,
stem girth, nodal distance, umbel diameter, days to
50% maturity, days to harvesting, seed yield per row,
weight of 100 seeds, Harvest index (%). Genomic
DNA of the accessions was extracted and subjected to
RAPD analysis in order to ascertain their genetic
diversity. Twenty-four out of 30 decimer primers
generated 145 clear bands and 70 (48%) were
polymorphic. Sixteen primers OPA- 01, OPA-03,
OPA-04, OPA-05, OPA-07, OPA-10, OPA-11, OPA-14,
OPA-15, OPA-18, AC-11, AC-14, AC-15, AC-16,
AC-18 and AC-20 gave polymorphism for different
characters. About 66.6% of polymorphic primers
generated the highest index to resolve genetic
diversity even in small number of accessions. Seven
accessions from Punjab, 3 from NWFP, one from
Balochistan and one from Northern Areas of Pakistan
had appeared with promising characters.
Khalil et al. (2007) reported that eight medicinal
plants (F. vulgare) were cultivated in the Experimental
Farm Station of the National Research Centre at
Shalakan Kalubia Governorate, Egypt, during the two
consecutive seasons 2003/2004. Plants were grown
under organic farming conditions, as the soil was
treated with organic compost without using mineral or
chemical fertilization. The herbs of the plants were
harvested and subjected to the estimation of phenolic
compounds and antioxidative activities in their
extracts. The results showed that plant growth
parameters varied greatly. Marigold plants were
significantly the highest, while sage plants resulted
significantly in the heaviest fresh and dry herb weight.
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Salicylic acid was the highest phenolic compound,
compared to the other fourteen phenolics. Salicylic
was present in high contents in all studied plants
except sage which contained the largest quantity of
pyrogallic acid. Catechol, protocatechenic and
cinnamic acid were the phenolics present in the lowest
quantity. Different plants greatly varied in the contents
of the phenolic compounds. Antioxidant activity
increased as efhanol extract raised from 100 ul to
150 ul and 200 ul extract. Sage showed very strong
antioxidant capacity (91.34% inhibition of peroxidation at
200 ul extract), followed by dragonhead and plantago.
Other plants showed moderate antioxidant activities.
Further work on the effect of organic farming
compared to chemical one on phenolics and
antioxidant activity as well as on different medicinal
plants are suggested
Mohamed and Abdu (2004) reported that seeds of the
aromatic plant F. vulgare were sown in sandy soil with
0 or 2.5 kg/m2 of organic fertilizer (OF); chicken
manure, cattle manure or plant compost. Plants were
irrigated three, four, five or six times at 21-day
intervals commencing 21 days after sowing and
continuing until harvest. Increasing the number of
irrigations and application of organic fertilizers
significantly delayed harvesting. Water stress imposed
by restricting the number of irrigations significantly
decreased plant height, branch number, and fruit and
oil yield, whereas it increased the percentage volatile
oils. All organic fertilizers increased plant growth and
yield parameters. With or without organic fertilization,
the increase in fruit yield with irrigation outweighed
the decrease in volatile oil percentage, so volatile oil
yield increased with irrigation. However, there was no
significant difference in volatile oil yield between five
and six times irrigated plants under any type of
fertilization. By increasing both fruit yield and volatile
oil percentage, organic fertilizers considerably
increased oil yield. Chicken manure fertilized plants
irrigated five or six times gave the highest volatile oil
yields of 2.08 ml and 2.09 ml plant, respectively,
followed by cattle manure fertilized plants irrigated 5
times (1.98 ml plant).
Effect of Salinity
Irrigation of fennel plant with saline water (3355 ppm)
52
under north Sinai conditions resulted in significant
reduction in vegetative and flowering characters,
consequently fruit yield/plant. The reduction of fruit
yield/plant reached 71.5: 76%. The reduction of oil
yield/plant 54.2: 58.9%. The reduction of anethole
content in oil reached 23.2%. On the contrary the
alternate irrigation with fresh (400 ppm) and saline
water 1: 1 showed less reduction in fruit yield/plant as
19.0: 25.3% and in oil yield/plant 14.2: 21.3%. The
same rate of alternate irrigation 1: 1 fresh: saline did
not largely affect oil constituents as anethole,
fenchone, limonene and ñ-cymene comparing to all
irrigation with saline water at 3355 ppm. Total
nitrogen, total carbohydrates and leaf pigments were
reduced significantly as all irrigation was done with
saline water comparing to alternate irrigation with 1: 1
fresh: saline water. The Efficiency of Using Saline and
Fresh Water Irrigation as Alternating Methods of
irrigation on the Productivity of F. vulgare Subsp.
Vulgare Var. Vulgare under North Sinai Conditions
Pathology
Little leaf disease caused by phytoplasma was for the
first time noticed on F. vulgare in the experimental as
well as commercial fields of CIMAP, Lucknow, and
its adjoining areas during the month of Feb., 1998.
The typical symptoms of the disease are characterized
by growth retardation with excessive proliferation of
axillary shoots and production of small, narrow leaves
which altogether give rise to witches-broom
appearance. The severely infected plants turn completely
yellow and fail to produce inflorescence. Disease
incidence has been found to be in the range of
5%~12 % in the commercial fields. Transmission
electron microscopic studies revealed the presence of
pleomorphic bodies only in sieve tube elements of
diseased plants but not in healthy one. They were
variable in size ranging from 110 nm to 970 nm and
resembled closely with ultra-structural details of other
known plant pathogenic phytoplasmas. Most of the
phytoplasma bodies were oval to spherical, some with
budding, and surrounded by a single membrane. The
symptoms of the disease were temporarily suppressed
when treated with tetracycline hydrochloride. This is
Medicinal Plant Research 2014, Vol.4, No.6, 46-54
http://mpr.biopublisher.ca
the first report of a phytoplasma disease on fennel
from India (Samad et al., 2002).
Conclusion
In this review the detailed information as presented on
the phytochemicals and various biological properties
of the F. vulgare. Historically, F. vulgare has been
used for the number of ethnobotanical purposes. At
present, F. vulgare has become an important source of
medicine for curing various human and animal
diseases. A part from exploring possibilities to prepare
standardized drugs by using different plant parts of F.
vulgare i.e. production of tea by using its fruits should
be promoted as a laxative for children at home as well
as commercial scale. Hence, extensive research is
required to find out the mechanisms of action as well
as bioactivity of the various phytochemicals and
efficacy of the medicinal values of F. vulgare. Thus in
the near future F. vulgare extracts could be further
exploited as a source of useful phytochemical
compounds and may play a very important role in
modern system of medicine.
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