Anise fruit (incorrectly called seeds), Pimpinella anisum L., is the fruit of a small annual herb of the Illiciaceae family. The greyish brown oval fruits are about 0.5 cm long. Anise fruit has a strong licoricelike flavour and is grown primarily in Spain, Egypt, and Turkey. Anise oil is obtained by steam distillation of these fruits. It is a colourless to pale yellow liquid or crystalline mass with a powerful, sweet odour, characteristic of anethole. The main component of anise oil is trans-anethol, which may be present at a concentration > 95% and which determines the melting point of the oil. Anise oil is used for flavouring food, beverages, and oral hygiene products. Oleoresin anise is a yellowish-green to orange-brown fluid oleoresin. The presence of a large quantity of fixed oil in this product limits its shelf life and the addition of a permitted antioxidant is advised.