In addition to being used to flavour and perfume with a sweet, liquorice-like aroma, aniseed has warming and stimulating qualities. The oil also helps to clean the mouth and fragrance the breath.  

Aniseed oil is extracted by steam distillation from the crushed seeds of the star anise tree; an evergreen tree native of China and Vietnam, widely grown in East Asia and Southeast Asia. The woody fruits of the tree have a distinctive 8-pointed, star-shaped appearance with a single seed inside.