Aniseed Essential Oil: a Liquorice Scent, EMA Rules and Safe Dilution

Aniseed seed oil smells sweetly of liquorice. How to dose it, what to blend it with and why the EMA does not permit it for children and pregnant women.

In short: Aniseed essential oil (Pimpinella anisum) is distilled from the seeds and 75–96 % of it is trans-anethole. It smells sweetly of liquorice. In a diffuser 1–2 drops, on the skin up to 1 % (limit 2.4 %). Do not use it in pregnancy, while breastfeeding, in children and in allergy to plants of the carrot family.

Latin name	Pimpinella anisum, aniseed
Part of the plant and extraction	ripe fruit (seeds), steam distillation (our oil: Egypt, BIO)
Main constituents	trans-anethole 75–96 %, estragole 0.5–5 %, anisaldehyde up to 3.5 %
Scent	sweet, liquorice-like, herbal
On the skin	max. 2.4 %; at home up to 1 %: 2 drops per 10 ml, 6 drops per 30 ml
Safety	no pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, endometriosis

Aniseed is one of the oldest cultivated herbs of the Mediterranean. You know the seeds from aniseed gingerbread, teas "for the tummy" or from liqueurs. The essential oil from them smells sweet, clean and more herbal than star anise oil, with which it is often confused.

Aniseed oil also has an official monograph from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Thanks to that we know quite precisely where its limits are, and we rely on them here.

Aniseed Is Not Star Anise

Both oils smell of liquorice because they contain the same main substance, trans-anethole. The plants, however, have nothing in common:

Aniseed is an annual herb of the carrot family (Apiaceae), like fennel, caraway, coriander, dill or celery. The oil is distilled from the seeds.
Star anise is a tree from South-East Asia, the oil is obtained from the star-shaped fruit. It smells spicier and warmer.

The relationship with the carrot family has a practical impact. The EMA lists as a contraindication hypersensitivity to aniseed, anethole and to other plants of the carrot family: fennel, caraway, celery, coriander and dill. Anyone with an allergy to celery or coriander should not try aniseed oil even on the skin.

Do you grow aniseed in the garden? How to do it is described in the article aniseed in the garden.

What the EMA Says About Aniseed Oil

The EMA monograph lists aniseed oil as a traditional herbal medicinal product for internal use in adults: for mild spasmodic digestive complaints with bloating and as support for expectoration in colds. For us the essential part is the restrictions that it adds to this:

What the EMA states	What it means at home
children and adolescents under 18: contraindicated (lack of data, estragole content)	do not give aniseed oil to children, neither on the skin nor in a diffuser
pregnancy and breastfeeding: not recommended	leave the oil out completely during this period
drinking 1–5 ml of the oil: nausea, vomiting, cramps, pulmonary oedema	always close the bottle and store it out of the reach of children
possible allergic reactions on the skin and in the airways	test in the crook of the elbow, switch off the diffuser if you have shortness of breath

The oil from our shop is intended for aromatherapy and external use. Internal use belongs only to registered medicinal products with a precise dose, not to drops from an aromatherapy bottle.

Scent and Popular Combinations

Aniseed is sweet and fresh at the same time. In a blend it works as "sugar", so a little is enough. It pairs well with:

orange and mandarin: a sweet autumn blend,
lavender and bergamot: a calmer evening combination,
coriander: a spicy, herbal scent from the kitchen,
ginger and cinnamon: Christmas gingerbread.

Do not combine it with star anise or fennel, all three contain a lot of anethole and their doses would add up.

How to Use Aniseed Oil

Use	Dose for adults	Note
Diffuser	1–2 drops per 100 ml of water	in a blend with citrus, 30–60 minutes
Oil burner	1 drop into the bowl	the scent is strong even in a small amount
Massage	up to 1 %: 2 drops per 10 ml, 6 drops per 30 ml	on the abdomen or back, not on the face
Bath	2 drops in a spoonful of carrier oil or cream	adults only, never pure oil into the water

How many drops by room size you will find in the article how many drops for a diffuser and oil burner.

Three Recipes with Aniseed

Aniseed gingerbread (diffuser, 100 ml): 1 drop of aniseed, 2 drops of mandarin, 1 drop of ginger.
Evening after work (oil burner): 1 drop of aniseed, 2 drops of lavender, 1 drop of bergamot. We also recommend this combination on the oil's product page.
Abdominal massage after a heavy meal (30 ml of jojoba, 1 %): 3 drops of aniseed, 3 drops of orange. Massage clockwise. Traditionally popular, not a substitute for treatment of digestive complaints.

Autumn and Christmas blends with other oils are in the overview Christmas scents for a diffuser.

Safety Step by Step

Hormones: in laboratory tests trans-anethole at high concentrations has a weak oestrogenic activity. Tisserand and Young therefore do not recommend the oil in endometriosis and oestrogen-sensitive tumours. The EMA mentions possible interference with hormonal treatment in long-term excessive use.
Blood clotting: Tisserand and Young state that the oil may affect clotting. If you take blood-thinning medicines, do not use it on the skin.
Children: do not use aniseed in children, neither on the skin nor in a diffuser. General rules: essential oils and children.
Cats: do not run a diffuser in a room with a cat that cannot leave (essential oils and pets).
Oxidation: oxidised anethole sensitises the skin. Store the oil cool and dark and use an opened bottle within a year.

How to Recognise a Good Aniseed Oil

On the label look for Pimpinella anisum. If Illicium verum is stated, it is star anise, sometimes sold as "star anise" or "Chinese anise". The oil is clear to pale yellow. In the cold it may partly solidify (anethole crystallises at around 20 °C) and dissolves again when warmed in the palm. This is not a defect but a sign of a high anethole content.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is aniseed essential oil for?

Mainly for a diffuser and oil burner for a sweet liquorice scent and, at low dilution, in massage oils. Traditionally aniseed is associated with digestion and cough, but that applies to registered medicinal products, not to home drops.

Is aniseed oil suitable for children?

The EMA prohibits it in medicinal products for children and adolescents under 18. At home do not give it to children, neither on the skin nor in a diffuser.

Why has aniseed oil solidified?

Anethole crystallises at temperatures around 20 °C and below. Warm the bottle in your palm or put it in a warm room for a while and the oil will dissolve again.

Can I use aniseed oil in pregnancy or while breastfeeding?

No. Neither the EMA nor Tisserand and Young recommend it in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, not even in a diffuser.

I am allergic to celery. Can I use aniseed oil?

Better not. The EMA states cross-hypersensitivity between aniseed and other plants of the carrot family, including celery, fennel, caraway, coriander and dill.

Sources

EMA: Anisi aetheroleum, EU monograph – ema.europa.eu
EMA/HMPC: Community herbal monograph on Pimpinella anisum L., aetheroleum, EMA/HMPC/321185/2012 – PDF
EMA/HMPC: Assessment report on Pimpinella anisum L., fructus and aetheroleum (composition of the oil, estragole, anethole) – PDF
Tisserand R., Young R.: Essential Oil Safety, 2nd edition, Churchill Livingstone 2014 (Aniseed profile).
AromaWeb: Anise Essential Oil, safety data – aromaweb.com

Updated: 27 September 2026

Author: Jana Vránová, editorial name of the Pěstík.cz team. She writes about the garden, herbs and essential oils. We take safety and dosage information from specialist literature and official sources, which we list for every article.