Caraway is an aromatic biennial plant native to Europe, Asia and North Africa. It has been used since the time of the ancient Egyptians and is now cultivated world-wide. It is used as a spice in cooking and the seeds and fruit are important both as a food and in herbal medicine.
The seeds contain around 5% volatile oil which consists of up to 60% carvone and 40% limonene. The fruit contains 10% of fixed oil and roughly equal quantities of protein and carbohydrate. Carvone is thought to have carminative (wind relieving) effects on the digestive system. It is also thought to be antispasmodic, anti-microbial, expectorant, galactagogue (stimulates breast milk) and emmenagogue (stimulates menstruation).
Historically Caraway has been used to treat a number of conditions including:
They are commonly available as seeds and may be crushed and made into a herbal tea and taken up to three times per day. Tinctures are also available. Enteric coated capsules of the volatile oil are sometimes available and are specific for use in irritable bowel syndrome, along with the herb, peppermint. A traditional practice in central Europe is to chew a few seeds before a rich meal to aid digestion. A few seeds added to foods that cause wind may also reduce flatulence.
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