Constituent · Phenylpropanoid / aromatic
anethole
The sweet, liquorice-anise compound behind fennel and star anise.
Essential oils richest in anethole
Measured relative composition (GC peak-area %) pooled across published GC-MS samples — median, typical range (middle 50%) and the maximum seen.
| Oil | Median | Typical range | Max | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anise | 75.27% | 61.3%–88.01% | 93.9% | 9 |
| Fennel | 55.27% | 44.07%–75.39% | 84.5% | 44 |
| Cinnamon bark | 2.44% | 2.44%–2.44% | 2.44% | 1 |
| Ginger | 1.93% | 1.93%–1.93% | 1.93% | 1 |
| Lime | 1.5% | 1.5%–1.5% | 1.5% | 2 |
| Yarrow | 0.7% | 0.7%–0.7% | 0.7% | 1 |
| Ylang ylang | 0.52% | 0.49%–0.57% | 0.72% | 11 |
| Dill | 0.43% | 0.38%–2.29% | 4.32% | 16 |
| Tangerine | 0.31% | 0.31%–0.31% | 0.31% | 1 |
| Thyme | 0.23% | 0.22%–0.3% | 1.65% | 5 |
| Basil | 0.16% | 0.14%–0.88% | 1.6% | 3 |
| Tarragon | 0.16% | 0.16%–0.17% | 0.18% | 2 |
| Geranium | 0.15% | 0.14%–2.23% | 4.31% | 3 |
| Orange | 0.11% | 0.11%–0.11% | 0.11% | 1 |
Oils in our library are linked above — open any profile for its full composition, safety panel and the research behind it.
Related constituents
Other phenylpropanoid / aromatic compounds across the oils.
Figures are GC peak-area percentages pooled across published GC-MS samples, not concentrations, and describe chemistry — not health effects. How this is built →