Star anise oil

Chemotypes :

Illisium L. is a genus containing more than fifty species.
In the F&F industry, we only use Illicium verum Hook.fil.
Illicium anisatum L., also known as Japanese star anise, is a highly toxic species that is not cultivated for essential oil extraction or culinary purposes. However, it is used as incense in East Asian countries. This variety also contains safrole and eugenol, compounds not found in Illicium verum Hook.fil., which can be used to detect adulteration, for example.

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.

From the same botanical variety

Star anise SFE

Uses in perfumery :

Gives depth to fougere, citrus, aromatic and chypre notes. Also used in spicy bouquets, liquorice notes and to give naturalness to green notes.

Stability :

Aromatic compounds can be chromophoric and cause a coloration of the oil, especially in alkaline bases
The terpenes identified in this raw material can polymerize when they are oxidized

Other comments :

Be careful, this plant is quite different from the green anise (Pimpenella anisum). They don't even have the same Order (Apiales from green anise, Austrobaileyales from star anise)

The essential oil of star anise is distinguished from the green anise oil by its Fenchone content.
The adulteration of the essential oil is possible by adding synthetic Anethole (less expensive) which is the essential oil of Japanese star anise (more toxic ...), although its use is highly regulated. Controls are made by chemical analysis to check its rate.
The essential oil of star anise is generally used to isolate the natural Anethole. The essential oil can be subjected to an ozonolysis process to remove anisaldehyde. In this operation, almost all the anethole included in the essential oil is converted to anisaldehyde.

Allergens :

D-Limonene - Linalool

Signal word :

Warning

Hazard pictograms :

Precautionary statements :

IFRA 51^th :

This ingredient is not restricted for the 51th amendment