Thursday, 31 October 2013

Chinese Herbs – Xiao Hui Xiang (Fructus Foeniculi Vulgaris)

Xiao Hui Xiang is also known as Fennel Fruit. The acrid and warm herb has been used in TCM as antioxidant and anti fungal agent and to treat Cold type of hernia, indigestion, gastric gas and colic,  swollen testes, stimulate the flow of breast milk, etc., as it disperses Cold, calms pain, regulates the Qi, harmonizes the Stomach, etc. by enhancing the functions of liver, kidney, spleen and stomach channels.
Ingredients
1. Trans-Anethole
2. Linoleic acid
3. Palmitic acid
4. Arachidic acid
5. Behenic acid
6. Quercetin
7. Phytosteryl b-fructofuranoside
8. 7-hydroxycoumarin
9. 6,7-dihydroxycoumarin
10. Oleanolic acid
11. Sitosterol
12. Stigmasterol
13. Fenchone  α-蒎烯
14. α-pinene
15. Limonene
16. Etc.

Health Benefits
1. Anti microbial activities
In the study to determine the chemical compositions of the essential oil and hexane extract isolated from the inflorescence, leaf stems, and aerial parts of Florence fennel and the antimicrobial activities of the essential oil, hexane extract, and their major component, anethole, against a large variety of foodborne microorganisms, showed that revealed that (E)-anethole, the main component of Florence fennel essential oil, is responsible for the antimicrobial activity and that the essential oils as well as the hexane extract can be used as a food preservative(1).
2. Anticancer Activity
In the study to evaluate the effect of Acetone extracts of selected plant species for their cytotoxicity against a noncancerous African green monkey kidney (Vero) cell line and an adenocarcinoma cervical cancer (HeLa) cell line, showed that dose-dependent studies revealed IC(50) of 34.46 ± 0.48 μg/mL and 126.3 ± 1.00 μg/mL on the HeLa cells and on the Vero cells 124.1 μg/mL ± 18.26 and 163.8 μg/mL ± 2.95 for L. nobilis and O. vulgare, respectively. Light (eosin and haematoxylin staining) and confocal microscopy (Hoechst 33342, acridine orange, and propidium iodide staining) were used to evaluate the cytotoxic mechanism of action for L. nobilis and O. vulgare(2).
3. Antioxidant effects 
Foeniculum Vulgare Mill has exerted the antioxidant protective effect by declining liver inflammation response and preventing the hepatic fibrosis progression, according to the study of Xinjiang Medical University(5).
4.  Bone loss
in the study of an aqueous extract of Foeniculum vulgare Miller seed (FvMs) at low concentration, which has traditionally been used as a treatment for a variety of ailments, inhibits the osteoclast differentiation and bone resorptive activity of mature osteoclasts, found that oral administration of FvMs (30 mg or 100 mg/kg/day) for 6 weeks had an intermediary effect on the prevention of femoral bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), and other parameters compared to OVX controls(4).
5. Etc.

Side Effects
1, Do  not use in case of Yin deficiency with loss of fluid
2. Do not use the herb in newborn, children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without first consulting with the related field specialist.
3. Etc.


Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20136455
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22649474
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22475144
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22447109

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