Star Anise EO

Latin name :

Illicium verum

Botanical profile :

The star anise is the fruit of the star anise tree, from the family of the Illicaceae and the genus Illicium (Latin name meaning ''attractive '').

Geographic origin :

Initialy originated from China, star anise was introduced in Europe at the end of the 16th century.
Other productor : Cambodge, Laos, Japon, Phillipines.

Chemotypes :

Illicium anisatum, also called Japanese aniseed tree is very toxic but is not grown for essential oil extraction, nor for edible purposes. The Japanese use it as incense. This variety also contains Safrole and Eugenol, two compounds that are not present in Illicium verum and are used to detect contamination of star anise lots.

Extraction process :

This spice is famous worldwide for its taste but also for its essential oil. It owes its name to its peculiar form consisting of a woody follicle with eight carpels, each containing a seed. The tree on which this star grows can reach 10 meters tall.
The propagation of a star anise crop is done by sowing seeds, directly visible in the fruits. The tree is cultivated outside of the field at first and planted in the field, every five meters, after three years of growth.
Harvests occur two to three times a year, in April and October. The fruits are usually picked green and sun-dried for 7 to 8 hours, until they become red-brown and lose 75% of their weight. The older the tree, the more important the harvest: a 15 year old tree can reach 20kg of fruit per year.
To collect the essential oil, seeds and bark (or seeds alone) are steam distilled for about : 48h for fresh fruits (yield: 2 to 4%) or 60h for dry fruits (yield: 8 to 9%).
Extraction can also be done with volatile solvents or with supercritical CO₂ with a yield of about 10% but a higher quality of essential oil.

Major Components :

Anethole (85-90%)
D-Limonene (≈3%)
Estragole (≈3%)
Linalool (≈1%)