Cognitive impairment is a neurological disorder defined as an inability to learn, think, judge, remember, and make decisions. The primary cause of chronic, age- related cognitive decline is Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is frequently studied as a representative model. The current therapies for AD provide only symptomatic relief, which necessitates the need for safer, multi-target treatments. Trans- anethole, the primary constituent of Illicium verum, Pimpinella anisum, and Foeniculum vulgare, is an aromatic molecule that possesses several pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which may have neuroprotective benefits.

Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) causes significant losses in major crops and is mainly controlled with chemical insecticides and genetically modified plants; however, improper use of these strategies has led to the development of resistant populations. We evaluated the insecticidal activity of essential oils (EOs) and major compounds of Syzygium aromaticum (Myrtaceae) and Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce (Apiaceae) against S. frugiperda, and their selectivity toward Trichogramma pretiosum (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). EOs and major compounds were topically applied to caterpillars using a microsyringe. Chromatographic analysis revealed that the major compounds of S. aromaticum were eugenol (76.2%) and (E)-caryophyllene (19.9%), while (E)-anethole (83.35%) was the major compound of F. vulgare var. dulce. The EOs of S. aromaticum and F. vulgare var. dulce were toxic to S. frugiperda (LD50 = 54.2 and 41 µg/caterpillar, respectively), compared with 0.03 µg a.i./caterpillar for chlorpyrifos, with (E)-anethole accounting for most of its insecticidal activity. The EOs also adversely affected larval development, fecundity, and life table parameters. Additionally, the EO of S. aromaticum was harmful to adult T. pretiosum females, whereas F. vulgare var. dulce EO and (E)-anethole were harmless to slightly harmful to the parasitoid's immature stages, highlighting their potential for selective control of S. frugiperda.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seeds contain the volatile oil composed largely of anethole, which is a phytoestrogen, as well as fenchone, estragole, 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol), and other constituents. Anethole is excreted in breastmilk.[1] Fennel is a purported galactogogue that has been used in traditional medicine as well as being included in some proprietary mixtures promoted to increase milk supply.[2-14] Two small studies found an increase in some parameters such as milk volume, fat content and infant weight gain with fennel galactogogue therapy. However, no increase in serum prolactin has been found with fennel use in nursing mothers.[15] Galactogogues should never replace evaluation and counseling on modifiable factors that affect milk production.[16,17] Immersing the breast in a warm infusion of fennel seeds and marshmallow root has been suggested as a treatment for breast inflammation,[18] but no scientific data are available that support this use. Fennel is generally well tolerated in adults, and fennel oil is "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) for use in food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It has been safely and effectively used alone and with other herbs in infants for the treatment of colic,[19-21] so the smaller amounts in breastmilk are likely not to be harmful with usual maternal doses. Some sources recommend limiting the duration of treatment to 2 weeks. Excessive maternal use of an herbal tea containing fennel, anise and other herbs appeared to cause toxicity in 2 breastfed newborns that was consistent with toxicity caused by anethole, which is found in fennel and anise. Fennel can cause allergic reactions after oral or topical use affecting the respiratory system or skin, including photosensitivity. Diarrhea and hepatomegaly occurred in a woman taking fennel, fenugreek, and goat's rue as galactagogues.[22] Elevated liver enzymes occurred in another woman taking Mother's Milk Tea, which contains fennel.[23] Avoid excessive sunlight or ultraviolet light exposure while using this herbal. Mothers should avoid fennel if they or their infants are allergic to carrots, celery, or other plants in the Apiaceae family because of possible cross-allergenicity. Dietary supplements do not require extensive pre-marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Manufacturers are responsible to ensure safety, but do not need to prove the safety and effectiveness of dietary supplements before they are marketed. Dietary supplements may contain multiple ingredients, and differences are often found between labeled and actual ingredients or their amounts. A manufacturer may contract with an independent organization to verify the quality of a product or its ingredients, but that does not certify the safety or effectiveness of a product. Because of the above issues, clinical testing results on one product may not be applicable to other products. More detailed information about dietary supplements is available elsewhere on the LactMed Web site.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a major cause of female infertility, is accompanied by elevated anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), ovarian hypervascularity, and excessive collagen deposition. While metformin is a well-established treatment, no study has yet explored whether Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel)-a medicinal plant with documented anti-PCOS benefits, administered alone or in combination-can attenuate these hormonal and structural abnormalities; this study provides the first integrated evaluation of both agents on ovarian damage in rats. Thirty-three female Wistar adult rats were divided into control and letrozole-induced PCOS groups. PCOS rats received saline (1 ml/kg/day; PCOS-Veh), fennel extract (500 mg/kg/day), metformin (300 mg/kg/day), or both for 21 days (n = 5/group). Body and ovarian weights were recorded, and blood samples were analyzed for AMH levels. Ovarian folliculogenesis, fibrosis, and vessel density were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin, and Masson's trichrome staining, and ovarian AMH expression by Western blot. PCOS rats exhibited fewer corpus luteum and pre-ovulatory follicles, more ovarian cysts, and increased fibrosis, vascularity, and AMH levels compared to the control. Fennel and metformin, particularly in combination, ameliorated ovarian histopathology by improving follicular abnormalities, increasing corpus luteum and pre-ovulatory follicles, and reducing cysts, fibrosis, hypervascularity, and ovarian dimensions. They also significantly lowered serum and ovarian AMH, with combination therapy being the most effective. These findings position fennel-particularly as an adjunct to metformin-as a dual modulator of both hormonal (AMH) and structural (vascular and fibrotic) ovarian alterations in a rat model of PCOS, although clinical trials remain essential before application in women with PCOS.

The present study was conducted over two successive seasons (2023/24 and 2024/25) at the Experimental Farm of El-Qassassin Horticultural Research Station, Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, to evaluate the response of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) plants to organic fertilization and biostimulant applications. The experiment followed a split-plot design in which three compost tea levels (360, 480, and 600 L ha[-][1]) were assigned to the main plots, while five biostimulant treatments (control, Azolla, Spirulina, Nostoc, and Chlorella extracts) were allocated to the subplots, resulting in 15 treatment combinations. Vegetative growth parameters, yield components, essential oil (EO) content, and oil yield per plant and per hectare were assessed. Higher compost tea levels, particularly 600 L ha[-][1] (Ct3), combined with the biostimulants Azolla (F2) or Spirulina (F3), consistently resulted in increased oil yield per plant and per hectare, with Ct3 × F3 achieving the maximum yields (55.58 kg ha[-][1] in the first season and 58.85 kg ha[-][1] in the second season). Principal component analysis supported these findings, indicating that yield improvements were associated with coordinated increases in oil-related traits rather than a single contributing factor. These results indicate that Ct3 combined with F2 or F3 was the most effective treatment for improving oil yield and quality under field conditions.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is an aromatic species of culinary and medicinal value, but the metabolic basis of its drought response and the extent of variation among wild populations remain poorly characterized. We investigated eleven wild fennel accessions from the Mediterranean region of Croatia under control and drought conditions, combining morphological measurements with targeted profiling of 78 primary and 55 secondary metabolites. Drought significantly reduced biomass, leaf area, length, and width, while leaf dry matter content increased. Primary metabolism shifted markedly: amino acids accumulated, with asparagine and arginine increasing by over 20-fold, whereas TCA-cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle) organic acids declined. Pathway analysis identified Alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism as most strongly affected by drought treatment. A decline in the GSH/GSSG ratio indicated oxidative stress under water shortage. Among secondary metabolites, free hydroxycinnamic acids and flavonoid aglycones accumulated while most glycosylated flavonoids declined, and eight compounds showed genotype-dependent responses in drought conditions. These results reveal accession-specific metabolic adjustments to drought and characterize Croatian wild fennel as a genetic resource with distinct phytochemical profiles relevant to future conservation and breeding.

Plant cuticles are lipophilic surface coatings that protect above-ground organs against environmental stress. An important cuticle component is wax, typically composed of very-long-chain hydrocarbons with terminal or in-chain functional groups. The current study aimed to provide a comprehensive analysis of leaf and stem cuticular waxes of Foeniculum vulgare, with special emphasis on characteristic wax components with in-chain hydroxyls or carbonyls. The stem and leaf waxes had similar compositions, including common compound classes such as fatty acids, aldehydes, alcohols and alkyl esters. The wax mixtures were dominated by ketones, with mainly C27 and C29 chains and keto groups on C-10 and C-12. Other compounds with mid-chain functionalities were identified by GC-MS analyses, including sets of (i) free as well as esterified ketoacids and primary/secondary ketols, and (ii) sec. alcohols, prim./sec. diols and sec./sec. ketols. The chain length and isomer patterns of these diverse wax compounds have implications for potential biosynthesis mechanisms.

Pre-velveting foods suffer from significant flavor loss and limited shelf life during storage, motivating a demand for multifunctional starch-based carriers. To address this, corn starch (CS)-soy protein isolate (SPI) coacervates with varying CS ratios were fabricated to encapsulate fennel essential oil (FEO), yielding a pre-velveting material with antimicrobial and flavor-enhancing properties. Results indicated that higher CS/SPI ratios (4,1 and 5,1) enhanced viscoelasticity and reduced particle size by forming a dense polysaccharide-protein network that inhibited FEO aggregation compared with the lower ratios. The resulting microcapsules (CSSP4 and CSSP5) similarly demonstrated improved DPPH radical scavenging capacity (59.49% and 56.15%, respectively) and enhanced thermal stability. SEM and XRD confirmed increased cross-linking of CS upon coacervation with SPI, which provided the basis for the improved encapsulation efficiency of FEO via the dense structure, while FTIR and molecular dynamics simulations indicated that this structure was primarily driven by hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions between CS and SPI, and the starch-protein interface was visualized. Electronic nose combined with GC-MS analyses identified anethole as the primary flavor compound of FEO microcapsules and showed that the stable structure delayed its release, with CSSP4 exhibiting the slowest release due to its higher density. Furthermore, among all formulations, CSSP4 showed the lowest TBARS values and pH increase, as well as the most favorable volatile profile and improved textural properties in cooked chicken cubes. This study presents a novel starch-based carrier designed to improve flavor retention and extend the shelf life of pre-velveting foods.

Long-term storage can erode the value of Apiaceae fruits through volatilization and compositional drift of their essential oils (EOs). This study evaluated UV-C pre-treatment (25 min) and packaging type as practical approaches to preserve EO quality in fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), anise (Pimpinella anisum), cumin (Cuminum cyminum), and caraway (Carum carvi) fruits stored for 12 months in four packages (jute, polyethylene 120 µm, polyethylene 150 µm, and an antifungal film). EO profiles were monitored by GC-MS at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months; antifungal efficacy was assessed against Rhizoctonia solani, Alternaria solani, and Fusarium oxysporum; and key EO constituents were docked against cutinase (PDB: 1xzb). At baseline, fennel EO was dominated by estragole (49.97% in control; 57.13% after UV-C) and anethole (20.02%); anise EO was rich in anethole (63.79% in control; 64.93% after UV-C); cumin EO was characterized by γ-terpinen-7-al (21.56% in control; 25.89% after UV-C) and cuminaldehyde (19.62% in control; 20.33% after UV-C); and caraway EO contained high levels of carvone (41.60% in control; 47.69% after UV-C) and D-limonene (24.36% in control; 33.11% after UV-C). After 12 months, hermetic packaging (150 µm and antifungal film) better preserved the dominant chemical signature of each EO under UV-C, with estragole at 85.16% in fennel (antifungal), anethole at 72.63% in anise (150 µm), cuminaldehyde at 37.46% in cumin (antifungal), and carvone at 63.14% in caraway (antifungal). Overall, combining UV-C with hermetic/antifungal packaging provides an effective strategy to maintain Apiaceae EO composition and bioactivity during extended storage.

Foeniculum vulgare Mill. is an important medicinal and edible plant, whose volatile constituents are predominantly composed of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. However, studies on genes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis and their functional characterization in this species remain relatively limited. In this study, integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses were conducted to systematically elucidate terpenoid metabolites and their associated biosynthetic genes in F. vulgare. A total of 53 terpenoid metabolites and 109 putative terpene biosynthetic genes were identified. Five candidate terpene synthase (TPS) genes were identified from full-length transcriptome sequencing and functionally characterized using an Escherichia coli heterologous expression system. FvTPS1 exhibited limonene synthase activity, whereas FvTPS2 primarily produced α-pinene together with minor amounts of β-pinene. Shake-flask fermentation experiments showed that the titer of limonene reached 295.75 ± 35.63 mg/L, while α-pinene production reached 254.01 ± 12.72 mg/L. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive overview of the terpenoid metabolome and transcriptome of F. vulgare, and reports for the first time the identification of limonene synthase and pinene synthase in this species. These findings offer valuable functional gene resources for the metabolic engineering and industrial production of high-value monoterpenes derived from F. vulgare.

We present a chromosome-scale genome assembly and annotation of anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), an aromatic perennial herb widely used for medicinal, horticultural, and ornamental purposes. The genome was assembled using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing, Illumina short-read sequencing, and Omni-C proximity ligation data, with gene annotation supported by RNA-seq data from leaf tissue. The final assembly spans 482.39 Mb, of which 434.47 Mb (90.06%) were anchored into nine chromosome-scale pseudomolecules. Structural annotation identified 28,193 protein-coding genes. Genome completeness was assessed using BUSCO, yielding scores of 98.0% (embryophyta_odb10, genome mode) and 95.5% (protein mode). This chromosome-scale genome assembly provides a foundational genomic resource for comparative and functional genomics within the genus Agastache and the Lamiaceae family.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is an aromatic herb cultivated worldwide. Narrow-wavelength red LED light can potentially regulate the accumulation of secondary metabolites such as aroma compounds, but its impact on fennel aroma remains unclear. This study investigated supplemental red LED effects on fennel aroma using nutrient film hydroponic systems, comparing natural greenhouse light (control) with supplemental red LED (100 μmol·m[-2]·s[-1], 14 h·d[-1]). GC-MS-O characterized aroma compounds in fresh fennel while RNA-seq analyzed gene expression. Supplemental red LED was found to enhance fennel growth and significantly increase aroma-active compounds in leaves, particularly phenylpropanoids like (E)-anethole and estragole. RNA-seq revealed 1958 upregulated and 278 downregulated genes. Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis genes such as eugenol synthase and isoeugenol synthase were upregulated. These gene-metabolite associations are correlational and functional validation was for future studies. Results demonstrated the potential application of LED lighting for enhancing culinary herb quality in controlled environments and provided molecular insights for fennel aroma biosynthesis.