Star Anise
Illicium verum
The star-shaped fruit of an evergreen tree, used as a spice and in traditional Chinese medicine. Don't give star anise tea to babies: it has made infants seriously ill.
What is Star Anise?
- Plant family
- Schisandraceae, the magnolia-vine family
- Parts used
- The dried star-shaped fruit, used whole or ground as a spice, in teas, and for its essential oil
- Genus
- Illicium
- Species
- verum
Also called
Chinese Star Anise, Badian
Traditionally used for
- Cooking spice
- Stomach pain (traditional)
- Infant colic (traditional; not safe)
Traditionally described as
- Antioxidant (in lab tests)
- Kills bacteria (in lab tests)
Traditions that use it
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Used in Chinese medicine to "warm" the body, ease pain and help the flow of qi, and in formulas for belly pain.
Safety
Toxicity testing
Don't give star anise tea to babies. Doctors in one report saw 7 infants with nerve-related symptoms after being given star anise tea at home.
Part of the problem is Japanese star anise, a related plant that is poisonous to the nerves. Dried, the two look alike, and the report found Chinese star anise contaminated with Japanese star anise.[1]
Technical detail: Japanese star anise is Illicium anisatum.
Contamination
Japanese star anise contains substances that can cause seizures. Other poisoning cases from star anise products have been reported, mostly from accidentally eating related plants, and occasionally from eating far too much.[2]
Technical detail: the convulsants anisatin and neoanisatin (I. anisatum); veranisatins A–C from I. verum were convulsant and lethal in mice at 3 mg/kg by mouth.
What does the research say?
Traditional use
These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.
Star anise has long been a cooking spice in China and was brought to Europe in the 17th century. In traditional Chinese medicine it's described as warming, easing pain and helping the flow of qi (the body's energy).
Old Chinese formulas include it for lower belly pain and hernia. China lists it as both a food and a medicine.[2]
Many communities have given star anise tea to babies for colic. Doctors now advise against this (see Safety).[1]
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.
In lab tests, star anise and its essential oil have shown antioxidant activity and killed some bacteria. Star anise is also the main natural source of shikimic acid, the starting material for making the flu medicine Tamiflu.[2]
Technical detail: 201 compounds identified; shikimic acid is the precursor for industrial synthesis of oseltamivir phosphate.
In short
Don't give star anise tea to babies; toxic Japanese star anise can be mixed in and looks the same.
Sources
- [1] Neurotoxicities in infants seen with the consumption of star anise tea · DOI: 10.1542/peds.2004-0058Peer-reviewed study
- [2] A Comprehensive Review of the Pharmacology, Chemistry, Traditional Uses and Quality Control of Star Anise (Illicium verum Hook. F.): An Aromatic Medicinal Plant · DOI: 10.3390/molecules28217378Peer-reviewed study
This information is educational and traditional in nature, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.