Origin.—The anise plant is a native of Egypt and the Levant, but has been introduced in various parts of that continent. It is also cultivated occasionally in the gardens of this country. The fruit is abundantly produced in Malta and Spain; in Romagna, in Italy, whence it is largely exported through Leghorn, and in Central and Southern Russia.

Description.—Ovoid, laterally compressed, 4 to 5 m. m. long; carpels usually cohering and attached to a slender pedicel; grayish or greenish-gray to grayish brown; each with a flat face and five light brown filiform ridges and about 16 oil-tubes; odor and taste agreeable and aromatic. The anise berries are dried and ground, this being the form in which it is usually used.

Dose.—Horses and cattle, 1 to 2 oz.; sheep and pigs, 2 to 3 dr.; dogs, 10 to 30 gr.

OLEUM ANISI—OIL OF ANISE

A volatile oil distilled from the fruit of star anise.

Properties.—A colorless or pale yellow, thin and strongly refractive liquid, having the characteristic odor of anise, and a sweetish, mildly aromatic taste. Specific gravity about 0.975 to 0.985. Soluble in an equal volume of alcohol.

Dose.—Horses and cattle, 20 to 30 m.; sheep and pigs, 5 to 10 m.; dogs and cats, 1 to 5 m.

Actions.—Anise is an aromatic stimulant, stomachic and carminative. It is used to relieve indigestion and flatulence, to communicate an agreeable flavor to many medicines, and to diminish the griping of purgatives. Oil of anise resembles in action other volatile oils.

Uses.—The oil of anise is employed with olive oil or alcohol to kill fleas or lice on dogs, rubbed over the skin; and one drop of the pure oil may be placed on the feathers of fowl to cause destruction of lice. The oil of anise is sometimes prescribed to disguise the odor of drugs, and is ordered in cough mixtures for its expectorant properties.

The fruit is given all animals (generally powdered) on their food—frequently with sodium bicarbonate and ginger—to relieve mild forms of indigestion and flatulence through its stomachic and carminative effects.