''Illicium verum'' (star anise or badian, Chinese star anise, star anise seed, star aniseed and star of anise) is a medium-sized

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

tree native to South China and northeast

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Its star-shaped pericarps harvested just before ripening are a

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

that closely resembles anise in flavor. Its primary production country is China, followed by Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. Star anise oil is highly fragrant, used in cooking, perfumery, soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, and skin creams. Until 2012, when they switched to using genetically modified '' E. coli'', Roche Pharmaceuticals used up to 90% of the world's annual star anise crop to produce oseltamivir (Tamiflu) via shikimic acid.

Etymology and nomenclature

''Illicium'' comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

meaning "entice" or "seduce".Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 210, 400 ''Verum'' means "true" or "genuine". The name "badian" appears to derive, via French , from the apparently descriptive Chinese name for it, , , lit. "eight horns". However, a derivation from the Persian '','' "

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

", exists, with the

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

indicating that its origin before that is unknown.

Description

Leaves are aromatic, simple and lanceolate, obovate-elliptic or elliptic, size of 5–15 cm × 2–5 cm, coriaceous to thickly coriaceous. The leaves are 5–15 cm × 1.5–5 cm, apex acute, lower side pubescent. Flowers are solitary, bisexual, pink to dark red, axillary or subterminal. The perianth has lobes 7–12, arranged spirally; stamens number of 11–20, arranged spirally, with short, thick filaments; carpels usually 8, free, arranged in a single whorl. Flower peduncle size is 1.5–4 cm, tepals number range from seven to twelve, and are broadly elliptic to broadly ovate, anthers size is 1–1.5 mm, pollen grains trisyncolpate. The fruit is a capsule-like follicetum, star-shaped, reddish-brown, consisting of six to eight follicles arranged in a whorl. Each follicle is boat-shaped, 1–2 cm long, rough and rigid, color reddish-brown, with 1 seed, opening along the ventral edge when ripe. carpels size of 10 mm long, boat-shaped; they are hard and wrinkled, containing one seed. Seeds are brown, compressed ovoid, smooth, shiny and brittle with approximate size of 8–9 mm × 6 mm. Differences with similar taxa: ''Illicium anisatum'' had smaller fruits that does not form a regular star due to the abortion of some carpels. Also fruit follicles are not swollen in the middle and had a more pointed apex. Also usually had more than 8 follicles and the fruit has weaker odour. The seeds in ''Illicium anisatum'' are flat or almost spherical.

Use

Culinary use

Star anise contains anethole, the same compound that gives anise, an unrelated plant, its flavor. Star anise has come into use in the West as a less expensive substitute for anise in baking, as well as in

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

production, most distinctively in the production of the

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

Galliano. Star anise enhances the flavor of meat. It is used as a spice in preparation of '' biryani'' and '' masala chai'' in some parts of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. It is widely used in

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

, and in Malay and

Indonesian cuisine Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions by various ethnic groups that formed in the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed ...

s. It is widely grown for commercial use in China, India, and most other countries in Asia. Star anise is an ingredient of the traditional five-spice powder of Chinese cooking. It is also a major ingredient in the making of '' phở'', a Vietnamese noodle soup. It is also used in the French recipe of mulled wine, '' vin chaud'' (hot wine). If allowed to steep in coffee, it deepens and enriches the flavor. The pods can be used in this manner multiple times by the potful or cup, as the ease of extraction of the taste components increases with the permeation of hot water.

Drug precursor

Star anise is the major source of the chemical compound shikimic acid, a primary precursor in the pharmaceutical synthesis of the anti-

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu). An industrial method for the production of shikimic acid using

fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...

of '' E. coli'' bacteria was discovered in 2005, and applied in the 2009 swine flu pandemic to address Tamiflu shortages, eventually reversing price increases for star anise as a

raw material A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished goods, energy, or intermediate materials/Intermediate goods that are feedstock for future finished ...

of shikimic acid. As of 2018, fermentation of ''E. coli'' was the manufacturing process of choice to produce shikimic acid for synthesis of Tamiflu.

Toxicity of related species

''Illicium verum'' is not toxic. However, other related species are toxic. Japanese star anise (''Illicium anisatum''), a similar tree, is highly toxic and inedible; in Japan, it has instead been burned as

incense Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...

. Cases of illness, including "serious neurological effects, such as seizures", reported after using star anise tea may be a result of deliberate economically motivated adulteration with this species. Japanese star anise contains the neurotoxin anisatin, which also causes severe

inflammation Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin ''calor'', '' ...

of the kidneys ( nephritis), urinary tract, and digestive organs when ingested. Swamp star anise '' Illicium parviflorum'', a similar tree found in the southern United States, is highly toxic and should not be used for folk remedies or as a cooking ingredient.

ISO Standardization

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

676:1995 – contains the information about the nomenclature of the variety and cultivars

Identification

* Refer to the 4th edition of the '' European Pharmacopoeia'' (1153)

Differentiation from other species

Joshi ''et al.'' have used fluorescent microscopy and

gas chromatography Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for Separation process, separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without Chemical decomposition, decomposition. Typical uses of GC include t ...

to distinguish the species, while Lederer ''et al.'' employed thin layer chromatography with HPLC- MS/MS.

Specifications

11178:1995 – a specification for its dried fruits

References

{{Authority control verum Spices Indian spices Non-timber forest products Medicinal plants of Asia Trees of China Trees of Vietnam Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker