Overview
About Anise
Anise, more precisely aniseed, is the seed of Pimpinella anisum, and it is graded E for salicylates: the top of the scale.
Aromatic seeds concentrate a lot of plant chemistry into very little weight, and aniseed is one of the densest salicylate sources in an ordinary spice rack. Nickel sits at C, moderate. The other half of the story is the naming. Aniseed is not star anise, which is the fruit of Illicium verum from an unrelated plant family, and it is not fennel, although all three taste of liquorice because they share the aroma compound anethole. That shared taste is why they get substituted for one another in recipes and confused in a trigger log. Beyond salicylate, aniseed is quiet: FODMAPs A, histamine A, gluten A, glutamates A, sulfite A, tyramine A, lactose A.
Sensitivities
How Anise scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- Salicylate E, the highest band. If you are running an RPAH or failsafe style elimination, aniseed is a spice to remove entirely rather than to portion down, and it is easy to overlook because the amounts look tiny
- Nickel C, moderate. Worth noting if you are trialling a low-nickel diet for systemic nickel allergy, since seeds and spices sit in the middle of that range rather than the bottom
- The label word "anise" is ambiguous. It can mean aniseed, star anise, or an anise-flavoured extract or oil, and star anise is graded separately here. Recording which one you actually ate is the difference between a usable pattern and noise
- Anise-flavoured spirits carry the load in liquid form. Ouzo, pastis, sambuca, raki and absinthe are flavoured with anise or star anise, so an evening reaction may be salicylate plus alcohol rather than either alone
- Much liquorice confectionery is flavoured with anise oil rather than liquorice root, so people avoiding liquorice for other reasons may still be meeting aniseed
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Anise
Is anise the same as star anise?
No. Aniseed comes from Pimpinella anisum, a small plant in the carrot and parsley family. Star anise is the dried star-shaped fruit of Illicium verum, an evergreen tree in a completely different family. They taste alike only because both contain anethole. They are graded separately in this database and are not interchangeable in a trigger log, so note which one a dish or a drink actually used.
Is aniseed high in salicylates?
Yes. Aniseed is graded E for salicylates, the highest band on the scale. Herbs and spices in general are salicylate-dense per gram, and aromatic seeds like this one sit at the top of that group. If aspirin, mint, curry powder or other strongly flavoured spices already cause you trouble, aniseed belongs on the list to test.
Is anise low FODMAP?
Yes. Anise is graded A across FODMAPs, fructans, GOS, excess fructose and polyols, and A for low fermentation SIBO. If a dish containing aniseed upsets your gut, look at the salicylate load or at the other ingredients rather than at the seed as a fermentable carbohydrate.
Is anise the same as fennel?
They are relatives, not the same plant. Both are in the Apiaceae family and both taste of liquorice thanks to anethole, but fennel is Foeniculum vulgare and anise is Pimpinella anisum. It matters here because fennel seed is graded lower on salicylates than aniseed, so people who react to aniseed sometimes still tolerate fennel seed in the small amounts used for flavour.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.