Culinary use 's 1833
Flore Medicale Star anise contains
anethole, the same compound that gives
anise, an unrelated plant, its flavor. Star anise has come into use in the
West as a less expensive substitute for anise in baking, as well as in
liquor production, most distinctively in the production of the
liqueur Galliano. Star anise enhances the flavor of meat. It is used as a spice in preparation of
biryani and
masala chai in some parts of the
Indian subcontinent. It is widely used in
Chinese cuisine, and in
Malay and
Indonesian cuisines. It is widely grown for commercial use in China, India, and most other countries in Asia. Star anise is an ingredient of the traditional
five-spice powder of Chinese cooking. It is also a major ingredient in the making of
phở, a
Vietnamese noodle soup. It is also used in the French recipe of mulled wine,
vin chaud (hot wine). If allowed to steep in coffee, it deepens and enriches the flavor. The pods can be used in this manner multiple times by the potful or cup, as the ease of extraction of the taste components increases with the permeation of hot water.
Drug precursor Star anise is the major source of the chemical compound
shikimic acid, a primary
precursor in the
pharmaceutical synthesis of the anti-
influenza drug
oseltamivir (Tamiflu). An industrial method for the production of shikimic acid using
fermentation of
E. coli bacteria was discovered in 2005, and applied in the
2009 swine flu pandemic to address Tamiflu shortages, eventually reversing price increases for star anise as a
raw material of shikimic acid. As of 2018, fermentation of
E. coli was the manufacturing process of choice to produce shikimic acid for synthesis of Tamiflu. ==Toxicity of related species==