A Concise Review on Toxicity and Pharmacological Aspects of Foeniculum vulgare with Emphasis on Anti-Cancer Potential

Abstract

The recent advancements in field of genomics and synthetic biology has paved the way for determination and utilization of pharmaceutical properties of beneficial plants. Foeniculum vulgare is a member of Apiaceae family, commonly known as fennel. It is globally distributed aromatic medicinal herb. F. vulgare falls in the category of World’s most important medicinal herb because of its economic status and pharmaceutical industrial applications. It has been used as herbal treatment for a longer period of time as an effective medicine to cure different ailments such as liver pain, kidney disorders, swollen stomach, abdominal pain, and mouth ulcerand no documented severe side effects reported. Essential oil, flavonoids and phenolic compounds are major chemical constituents of F.vulgare. Volatile and non-volatile compounds of this plant are responsible for its biological activities. The Pharmacological experiments performed by in vitro and in vivo models, revealed that F. vulgare has strong therapeutic effects. This review is supposed to shed the light on anti-bacterial, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antifungal, antimicrobial, antianxiety, hepatoprotective, memory protective, acaricidal, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-mutagenic activities.

Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Fennel Seeds (Foeniculum Vulgare) on Improving Egg Quality in Laying Hens

“…Recent studies have highlighted on the beneficial effects of medicinal plants used in poultry feeding, the physiological evaluation of medicinal plants in the poultry industry showed a strong effect as a substitute for natural growth stimulants, improved egg components and reduced fat content while increasing alpha-Linolenic acid and n-3 fatty acid content (2, 23 and 25). Foeniculum vulgare Mill is a well-known medicinal plant that has been used by humans since ancient times because of its distinctive flavor, it is known worldwide as Fennel, recent developments in the field of genomics and synthetic biology have paved the way for the use of the medicinal properties of this plant, as pharmacological experiments have shown that the Fennel has strong therapeutic effects due to its pharmacological properties that are very important for human health (4). As for the poultry industry, the Fennel when it was included as a feed additive to the diet of laying hens showed significant effects on the external and internal quality characteristics of eggs (31).…”