[Sca-cooks] The benefits of Anise

Sharon Gordon gordonse at one.net
Wed Feb 20 11:31:47 PST 2008


Discoveries from a new study on Anise (Pimpinella sp.)

Sharon
gordonse at one.net
___________________________________________

ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Ann Perry, (301) 504-1628, ann.perry at ars.usda.gov February 20, 2008 --View
this report online, plus photos and related stories, at
www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr ___________________________________________

People use anise to add a hint of licorice to everything from holiday
springerle cookies to robust bottles of ouzo and raki. Now Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) postdoctoral scientist Nurhayat Tabanca and plant
pathologist David Wedge have found that anise (Pimpinella sp.) is more than
just another jar in the spice rack. 

Teaming up with colleagues in Mississippi and Turkey, they isolated 22
compounds in Pimpinella's essential oils and found high levels of organic
mixtures called phenylpropanoids. Phenylpropanoids are found in a wide
variety of plants, and some are thought to have health-boosting benefits. 

However, the chemical structure and biological activity of the Pimpinella
phenylpropanoids are unique. Some phenylpropanoid compounds the team found
have only been found in Pimpinella, and four of the compounds they isolated
had never before been identified in any plant. 

The compounds were evaluated for their activities against the plant fungus
Colletotrichum, which causes anthracnose diseases worldwide. One unique
compound was especially effective against strawberry anthracnose and
strawberry soft rot and leaf blight. In addition, Pimpinella isaurica
essential oils were more effective in controlling aphids than isolated
Pimpinella phenylpropanoids.

These compounds were also tested for their activity against various major
and minor microbes. A few showed some effectiveness against Plasmodium
falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria in humans, and Mycobacterium
intracellulare, a bacterium which can cause illness in immunocompromised
patients. 

Some phenylpropanoids exhibited anti-inflammatory activities. Pimpinella
essential oils also showed estrogenic effects in a yeast model and were
considered to have phytoestrogen properties.

These results suggest that Pimpinella essential oils may be a source of
potent compounds that could be used in developing powerful new
pharmaceuticals and agrochemical agents.

Tabanca and Wedge work at the ARS Natural Products Utilization Research
Laboratory in Oxford, Miss.  Other researchers who contributed to this
research include K. Husnu Can Baser and Nese Kirimer with Anadolu University
in Eskisehir, Turkey; Erdal Bedir with Ege University in Izmir, Turkey;
Ikhlas Khan and Shabana Khan from the University of Mississippi; and Blair
Sampson, who works at the ARS Thad Cochran Southern Horticultural Laboratory
in Poplarville, Miss.  

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research
agency.

___________________________________________

This is one of the news reports that ARS Information distributes to
subscribers on weekdays. Send feedback and questions to the ARS News Service
at NewsService at ars.usda.gov.

* You are subscribed to "ARS News" as gordonse at one.net.
* To change the address, please notify the ARS News Service at
NewsService at ars.usda.gov.
* To unsubscribe, send a blank email to leave-143000-4768X at ls.ars.usda.gov.
* Other ARS news products are available by e-mail. For details about them or
to subscribe, please contact the ARS News Service or visit
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/lists.htm.
__________________________________________
ARS News Service, Information Staff, Agricultural Research Service
5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128
NewsService at ars.usda.gov | www.ars.usda.gov/news Phone (301) 504-1636 | fax
(301) 504-1486)

New Prospects for an All-Around Spice
___________________________________________

ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Ann Perry, (301) 504-1628, ann.perry at ars.usda.gov February 20, 2008 --View
this report online, plus photos and related stories, at
www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr ___________________________________________

People use anise to add a hint of licorice to everything from holiday
springerle cookies to robust bottles of ouzo and raki. Now Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) postdoctoral scientist Nurhayat Tabanca and plant
pathologist David Wedge have found that anise (C.) is more than just another
jar in the spice rack. 

Teaming up with colleagues in Mississippi and Turkey, they isolated 22
compounds in Pimpinella's essential oils and found high levels of organic
mixtures called phenylpropanoids. Phenylpropanoids are found in a wide
variety of plants, and some are thought to have health-boosting benefits. 

However, the chemical structure and biological activity of the Pimpinella
phenylpropanoids are unique. Some phenylpropanoid compounds the team found
have only been found in Pimpinella, and four of the compounds they isolated
had never before been identified in any plant. 

The compounds were evaluated for their activities against the plant fungus
Colletotrichum, which causes anthracnose diseases worldwide. One unique
compound was especially effective against strawberry anthracnose and
strawberry soft rot and leaf blight. In addition, Pimpinella isaurica
essential oils were more effective in controlling aphids than isolated
Pimpinella phenylpropanoids.

These compounds were also tested for their activity against various major
and minor microbes. A few showed some effectiveness against Plasmodium
falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria in humans, and Mycobacterium
intracellulare, a bacterium which can cause illness in immunocompromised
patients. 

Some phenylpropanoids exhibited anti-inflammatory activities. Pimpinella
essential oils also showed estrogenic effects in a yeast model and were
considered to have phytoestrogen properties.

These results suggest that Pimpinella essential oils may be a source of
potent compounds that could be used in developing powerful new
pharmaceuticals and agrochemical agents.

Tabanca and Wedge work at the ARS Natural Products Utilization Research
Laboratory in Oxford, Miss.  Other researchers who contributed to this
research include K. Husnu Can Baser and Nese Kirimer with Anadolu University
in Eskisehir, Turkey; Erdal Bedir with Ege University in Izmir, Turkey;
Ikhlas Khan and Shabana Khan from the University of Mississippi; and Blair
Sampson, who works at the ARS Thad Cochran Southern Horticultural Laboratory
in Poplarville, Miss.  

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research
agency.

___________________________________________

This is one of the news reports that ARS Information distributes to
subscribers on weekdays. Send feedback and questions to the ARS News Service
at NewsService at ars.usda.gov.

* You are subscribed to "ARS News" as gordonse at one.net.
* To change the address, please notify the ARS News Service at
NewsService at ars.usda.gov.
* To unsubscribe, send a blank email to leave-143000-4768X at ls.ars.usda.gov.
* Other ARS news products are available by e-mail. For details about them or
to subscribe, please contact the ARS News Service or visit
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/lists.htm.
__________________________________________
ARS News Service, Information Staff, Agricultural Research Service
5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128
NewsService at ars.usda.gov | www.ars.usda.gov/news Phone (301) 504-1636 | fax
(301) 504-1486





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