Estragole and anethole as potential hazardous compounds in products: extraction , analysis and pharmacological effects.

Dief, Lamiaa El Sayed; Eltamany, Enas Elsayed; Hadad, Ghada; Ibrahim, Amany Kamal

doi:10.21608/rpbs.2025.363440.1360

Estragole and anethole as potential hazardous compounds in products: extraction , analysis and pharmacological effects.

Document Type : Mini-reviews

Authors

¹ Pharmacognosy department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

² Pharmacognosy Department, faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University

³ Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt.

⁴ Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, 41522, Ismailia, Egypt

10.21608/rpbs.2025.363440.1360

Abstract

The consumption of herbal products has been increased recently. Essential oils of aromatic plants proved to be the contributor of their medicinal uses. Estragole and trans anethole are two phenylpropanoid compounds. Estragole is from the allylbenzene group while trans anethole is from propenyl benzenes. These two compounds constitute the major components of the essential oils of widely used herbs such as the two Apiaceae plants: fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill) and anise (Pimpinella anisum L), Chinese star anise (Illicium verum Hook, family Illiciaceae) and basil (Ocimum basilicum L, family Labiatae). These plants are consumed for culinary purposes as well as in traditional medicine. Moreover, various scientific reports highlighted the pharmacological effects of these plants which were mainly linked to their volatile oils. This review focuses on the traditional and pharmacological uses of estragole and anethole containing herbs as well as their methods of extraction. In addition, it delves into the different analytical techniques used for the quantification of estragole and anethole in various herbal products.

Keywords