Star anise, also known as Chinese star anise, five-spice star anise, star anise, or large anise, is an economic plant. It belongs to the genus Illicium within the family Illiciaceae, under the subclass Magnoliidae of the class Dicotyledoneae. Native to Southeast Asia and the Americas, it is primarily cultivated in Guangxi, Yunnan, southern Fujian, and western Guangdong provinces of China.Its fruit serves as a culinary spice. The leaves and fruit yield aromatic oil—star anise oil—used in food industries like sweet-scented liquor and beer production, as well as in toothpaste, soap, perfume, and cosmetics. It also functions as a raw material for synthesizing the estrogen compound hexahydroxyestradiol. Additionally, it aids in crystal mining. China accounts for over 80% of the global star anise export market.Star anise wood is reddish-brown with straight grain, fine texture, light weight, softness, and a fragrant aroma. It resists insect damage and is used for furniture, box panels, toys, and fine woodworking. Note: While cultivated varieties are safe, fruits from wild species are often highly toxic and can cause fatal poisoning if mistakenly consumed.【Value and Uses】
Star anise fruits are used medicinally. They contain volatile oils, fatty oils, proteins, and resins. The oil comprises anethole, safrole, anisaldehyde, anisylacetone, and carvone.They possess a warm nature and pungent taste. They function to warm yang, dispel cold, regulate qi, and alleviate pain. They are used to treat cold-induced vomiting, cold-induced abdominal pain, kidney deficiency-related lower back pain, and dry or damp beriberi.
The fruits and seeds serve as seasonings and also have medicinal applications.It possesses a strong aroma and functions to repel insects, warm the middle burner, regulate qi, fortify the stomach, stop vomiting, dispel cold, and stimulate the nervous system. Beyond culinary use, star anise serves as an industrial raw material for perfumes, toothpaste, soap, and cosmetics, and is also employed medicinally as a carminative and stimulant. It contains volatile oils, fatty oils, proteins, and resins.The oil contains anethole, safrole, anisaldehyde, anisylacetone, and carvone. It is warm in nature and pungent in taste. It warms yang, dispels cold, regulates qi, and alleviates pain. It is used to treat cold-induced vomiting, cold-induced abdominal pain, and kidney deficiency.
【Selected Formulas】
1. For small intestine qi descent: Equal parts star anise and fennel seeds (3 qian each), with a small amount of frankincense. Decoct in water and administer to induce sweating.(Ren Zhai Direct Point Prescriptions)
2. For unilateral hernia: One ounce each of ground star anise and ground fennel. Place both powders into a pig's bladder filled with urine. Secure it inside a pot and simmer until tender. Pound the contents into pills the size of a gooseberry. Take fifty pills each time with clear broth.(Miscellaneous Health Notes)
3. For heavy, stabbing pain in the lower back: Roast star anise, grind into powder. Take 2 qian before meals with wine. (Direct Pointers from Ren Zhai)
4. For stabbing pain in the lower back: Take 2 qian of roasted and ground star anise before meals with salted broth.Externally, apply one to two liters of glutinous rice, roasted hot, in a pouch tied to the painful area. (Simple and Effective Single-Ingredient Formulas)
5. For constipation of both bowels and bladder, abdominal distension like a drum, and shortness of breath: Half an ounce of hemp seeds (roasted, shelled), seven star anise pods. Grind into powder. Add three to seven fresh scallion whites, decoct together, mix with Wu Ling San, and take.(Permanent Categories of Prescriptions)
6. For wind-toxin dampness attacking the body, forming sores with purple, broken, pus-filled skin, weakness in walking, and skin fever: One ounce each of star anise (roasted), earthworm (dirt-removed, roasted), Sichuan aconite (roasted, skin and tip removed), evodia (chopped), and pharbitis (roasted).Grind into a fine powder, mix with wine paste to form pills the size of a tung seed. Take fifteen pills on an empty stomach with salt water twice daily. (Aniseed Pills from Essentials of Treatment for Foot Qi) For lower back pain, dry and damp foot qi, etc.