Chinese Star Anise and Anise: A Multidimensional Study

Star anise (Illicium verum Hook. f.) is one of the most famous evergreen trees which has originally distributed in tropical and subtropic areas of Asia, especially China, and it is famous in traditional Chinese medicine as well as traditional Asian medicine. Its fruit is also a commonly used spice. Star anise is the main source of shikimic acid, the most important ingredient of the Tamiflu drug. Chinese star anise has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal characteristics, and it is useful in the treatment of diseases like asthma, bronchitis, and dry cough, it is also good for having a good sleep; it is a natural breath fresher, one of its compounds is Shikimic which is used as a drug in curing influenza and flu virus; it consists of Linalool which is good for overall health because of its anti-oxidants characters.