Anise Oil

Chemical properties

Anise oil or Aniseed oil is obtained by steam distillation of the fruits of Pimpinella anisum L. (Apiaceae). It is a colorless to pale yellow liquid or crystalline mass with a powerful, sweet odor, characteristic of anethole. d²⁰₂₀ 0.980-0.990; n²⁰_D 1.552-1.561;α²⁰_D ?2°to +2°; solubility: 1 vol in 3 vol of 90% ethanol at 20 ℃; fp 15–19.5℃. Themain component of anise oil is (E)-anethole, which is present at a concentration of 87–94% and which determines themelting point of the oil. The oil has now been replaced, to a large extent, by the less expensive star anise oil, which also contains high percentages of anethole, but is still produced, for example, in Hungary and Egypt on a small scale. Anise oil is used for flavoring foods, beverages, and oral care products.

Chemical properties

Herbaceous annual plant indigenous to Greece and Asia Minor, now extensively cultivated in Europe, in Russia and, to a lesser extent, in India. It has a perpendicular root, an erect cylindrical stalk, alternate leaves, yellowish-white flowers, five-edged carpels and lens-shaped seeds. It flowers in July. The fruits of commerce are grayish-green to dull yellowish-brown in color, 3 to 5 mm long and 1.5 to 2 mm wide, containing about 10% of fixed oil and 1.5 to 4% of essential oil. Parts used are fruits, improperly called seeds. Anise has a history of use as a spice and as a fragrance. It has a sweet, soft, mild flavor with rich effects. The main component responsible for its characteristic taste and smell, as well as for its medicinal properties, is trans-anethole

Physical properties

Anise oil is a colorless to pale-yellow, strongly refractive liquid.

Essential oil composition

The seeds yield 2.5% of the oil on steam distillation. The major components of the oil are typically 95% trans-anethole (strong, sweet, anise) and 2% methyl chavicol (strong, sweet, tarragon). TNO (2000) reported presence of 44 compounds in anise. Of these, 23 were hydrocarbons, 8 phenols, 4 alcohols, 3 carbonyl ketones, 1 carbonyl aldehyde, 1 acid and 4 unknown compounds.