Dill

Also called

Garden Dill, Aneth, Sowa

Older scientific names

Pastinaca anethum Spreng., Peucedanum graveolens Benth. & Hook., Selinum anethum Roth

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

• Dill has been used for about 5,000 years. Ancient Egyptian physicians used it, and traces have been found in Roman ruins in Britain. In Ayurvedic medicine, the seed and leaf are used to relieve gas, settle the stomach and increase urination. Dill is a traditional ingredient in gripe water, given for colic in babies and gas in young children.[3]

• The World Health Organization's profile of dill seed lists these traditional uses:

  • Documented in official herbal references: indigestion, stomach inflammation (gastritis), gas and stomach ache.
  • In wider traditional medicine: to boost sex drive, relieve pain, lower fever, increase urination, bring on periods, increase breast milk and stimulate appetite; and for diarrhea, asthma, nerve pain, painful urination, period pain, gallbladder disease, trouble sleeping, hiatus hernia and kidney stones.

  The WHO states that none of these uses is supported by clinical data (studies in people).[1]

  Technical detail: WHO terms: dyspepsia, gastritis, flatulence; aphrodisiac, analgesic, antipyretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, galactagogue; neuralgia, dysuria, dysmenorrhoea.

Laboratory & animal research

Lab and animal results show what might be worth studying in people. They don't show that the herb has these effects in humans.

• A research review reports that, in lab and animal testing, dill acted against several kinds of bacteria, showed antioxidant activity from natural plant compounds, relaxed gut muscle, and protected the stomach lining against acid- and alcohol-induced damage and ulcers. These are lab and animal findings, not established effects in people.[3]

  Technical detail: antioxidant flavonoids include quercetin and isorhamnetin; mucosal-protective, antisecretory and anti-ulcer activity against HCl- and ethanol-induced lesions.

• The World Health Organization summarizes these lab and animal findings:

  • In lab tests, a dill seed extract relaxed gut muscle, and the essential oil reduced gut contractions and helped break up gas bubbles. This fits dill's traditional use for cramps and gas.
  • Applied to the skin of mice, a seed extract reduced inflammation by 60%.
  • In mice, a water-based seed extract and the essential oil reduced pain about as well as aspirin.
  • Given by injection to dogs and cats, extracts increased urination and lowered blood pressure.
  • One dose of extract lowered blood sugar by 30% in fasting rats.

  These results come from animals and lab tests. They are not established effects in people.[1]

  Technical detail: 50% ethanol extract inhibited acetylcholine- and histamine-induced contractions of guinea-pig ileum; essential oil reduced rabbit intestine contractions with carminative, antifoaming activity; TPA-induced mouse ear inflammation; hot-plate and acetic-acid writhing tests, comparable to acetylsalicylic acid; intravenous administration in dogs and cats; single intragastric dose in fasted rats.

Research in people

• In one trial, 91 people with high blood fats (cholesterol or triglycerides) took either dill tablets or the cholesterol drug gemfibrozil for 2 months. Among those who completed it, dill lowered total cholesterol more (18% vs. about 9%), while gemfibrozil lowered triglycerides more (about 33% vs. 7%) and raised "good" HDL cholesterol slightly (dill didn't change HDL). The authors said dill may help people with high cholesterol and triglycerides, but more research is needed.[2]

  Technical detail: randomized, single-blind; gemfibrozil 900 mg/day vs. six dill tablets daily; 42 completed the gemfibrozil arm and 35 the dill arm; total cholesterol −18% vs. −9.41%; triglycerides −32.7% vs. −7.38%; HDL +3.91% with gemfibrozil.