Medicinal Benefits of Anise Seeds (Pimpinella Anisum) and Thymus Vulgaris in a Sample of Healthy Volunteers

Abstract

Herbal medicine plays an important role in recent therapeutic strategies in different diseases according to estimation of World Health Organization. Anise was first cultivated in Egypt and the Middle East, but was brought to Europe for its medicinal value. It used medicinally as a stimulant, carminative, and flavoring agent, coughs, flatulence, respiratory infections, asthma, indigestion as well as hormone replacement therapy for menopause. In addition, thyme is used widely for different ailments including abscess, acne, appetite stimulant, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, burns, cancer, cellulitis, depression, gastritis, colic, cystitis, dermatitis and many other disorders. The aim of this study is to evaluate the health benefits of both anise and thyme in a sample of healthy volunteers. Ten healthy volunteers were participated in this study with age 22-24 years. They allowed taking anise seeds and thyme leaves 2g twice daily as hot macerated drinks (tea) for 4 weeks. All biochemical parameters (FBS, CBC, lipid profile, liver, kidney tests and testosterone level) were taking before commencing the trial and after. Body weight and blood pressure were measured weekly. Outcomes of this study showed that most of the biochemical parameters were reduced especially liver, kidney function tests, FBS, lipid profile but insignificantly. Regarding to the blood pressure thyme had showed significant reduction in SBP, DBP and MAP. Both herbs improved the level of testosterone. From this study, it suggested that both herbs had health benefits for different ailments depending on the duration of consumption.

Ethnomedicinal Plants from Iraq as Therapeutic Agents against Mycobacterium tuberculosis: A Review

“…Pimpinella anisum is grown and cultivated in various areas such as Asia, Middle Eastern regions like Iran and Egypt. It has also been reported to grow in Europe and Mexico 77 . Every year, the anise fruit is harvested between August and September.…”

“…Every year, the anise fruit is harvested between August and September. Its traditional medicinal uses include alleviation of various conditions such as digestive disorders, GIT spasms, and constipation and also to increase the breast milk production in women 76,77 . The secondary metabolism products of this plant consist of various chemicals with anti-microbial and anti-oxidant activities [78][79][80].…”

In-silico Assessment of Potent Immunomodulators from Pimpinella anisum and its Antioxidant Potential

“…3 Majorly this herb used as flavouring agent, carminative and stimulatant, besides that is used in asthma, coughs, flatulence, diuretic, and menopause as a remedial treatment. 4 P. anisum having several major phyto-constituents including trans-anethole, estragole, (E)-methyleugenol, α-cuparene, α-himachalene, β-bisabolene, p-anisaldehyde, phenylpropanoid, and cis-anethole. [5][6][7] In recent times, molecular docking has taken over as the primary computer-aided drug design tool for analyzing new ligands, their positions and orientations, binding affinities, and small molecule behavior at the target protein's binding site.…”