Star Anise

Star anise is a lovely looking fruit which is shaped like a star, and its color can range from white to red. It is an evergreen tree up to a height of 8-15 meters and a diameter of 25 cm. The fruits have 6-8 carpels arranged in a whorl. Each carpel is 10 mm long, boat shaped, each of these carpels contains a seed within. These hard sections are known as the seed pods. This seed is used for flavoring meat and pickles and vegetable dishes as well.

The fruits are picked before ripen and dried to get the dried spice. It is used to flavour vegetables, meat, and to marinate meat dishes etc. It’s also used as a flavouring agent for tea and soups.

Anise seed oil extracted from seed have many medicinal properties such as anti-spasmodic, carminative, digestive, expectorant, stomachic, anti-septic, stimulant and tonic. Also the star anise oil is a highly fragrant oil using in cooking, perfumery, soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, and skin creams.

Star anise is a great source of minerals like calcium, iron, copper, potassium, manganese, zinc, magnesium. Contains good amounts of anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-C and vitamin-A. And also found components like estragol, p-anisaldehyde, anise alcohol, acetophenone, pinene and limonene. Star anise not only using as flavourig agent but also it has many health benefits such as,

• helping in digestion.
• Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure.
• vitamin C that protects the body against cellular damage caused by environmental toxins.
• Star anise, in its natural form, can help to improve body’s immune system.

Name of star anise in different region:

Hindi: Anasphal, Badayan, Chakra Phool

Kannada: Chakramaggi

Malayalam: Takkolam

Marathi: Badian

Tamil: Annasi pu, Padiyan

Telugu: Anaspuvu

Urdu: Badyani

Oriya : Anasphul