Sweet Fennel (Xiao Hui Xiang)

小茴香
Fennel fruit (Xiaohuixiang)

Pharmaceutical Name: Fructus Foeniculi

Botanical Name: Foeniculum vulgare Mill.

Common Name: Fennel fruit

Source of Earliest Record: Xinxiu Bencao

Part Used: The fruit is gathered in late summer or early autumn and dried in the sun.

Natural Properties & Taste: Pungent and warm

Meridians: Liver, kidney, spleen and stomach

Therapeutic Effects:
1. To dispel cold and stop pain.

2. To regulate qi and harmonize the stomach.

Indications:
1. Cold stagnation in the liver meridian manifested as hernia. Fennel fruit (Xiaohuixiang) is used with Cinnamon bark (Rougui) and Lindera root (Wuyao) in the formula Nuangan Jian.

2. Cold in the stomach manifested as vomiting and epigastric distension and pain. Fennel fruit (Xiaohuixiang) is used with Dried ginger (Ganjiang) and Costus root (Muxiang).

Dosage: 3-8 g