Fennel is offered alone or in combination with other plants as a tea drug; fennel is also commercially available in filter bags or as instant tea. The fruit and oil come in the form of honey, syrup, candies, and throat lozenges. Fennel oil also exists in drop form for colds and digestive problems.
Average daily dose in the use of fennel.
The average daily dose, unless otherwise prescribed, is 5-7 g of the fennel fruit, 10-20 g of the syrup or honey, and 5-7.5 g for compound fennel tinctures. For digestive problems, 2-5 drops of fennel oil can be taken after each meal.
Fennel: preparation of fennel tea.
To prepare a fennel tea, crush 2-5 g of the fruit (1 teaspoon is about 2.5 g) immediately before use and pour boiling water over it. After everything is left covered for 10-15 minutes, the mixture can be passed through a tea strainer.
Fennel – contraindications and warnings
Fennel fruit should be kept dry and protected from light in glass or tin containers. The following contraindications apply:
- There are no contraindications for fennel tea or preparations comparable in terms of oil content, such as fennel honey. However, other preparations should not be taken during pregnancy.
- Pure fennel oil should not be used in young children or infants.
- Diabetics should be aware of the sugar content in fennel syrup or honey.
- Fennel fruits should be squeezed immediately before use, because only in this way the essential oil from the secretory spaces can pass into the extraction medium (water, ethanol).
Fennel: do not take over a long period of time.
The Federal Institute for Consumer Health Protection urges caution when taking fennel preparations over a long period of time. This is based on experiments with pure, isolated estragole, in which mutagenic effects were found.
However, the amount of estragole reaching the body at the specified maximum daily doses is so low that these results are generally not relevant for humans. Nevertheless, consultation with a physician or pharmacist should be made when fennel preparations are taken over a long period of time.