Star anise (Illicium verum) essential oil is dominated by trans-anethole (typically 80-90%), which drives the characteristic anise aroma and contributes to potent antifungal activity against a range of pathogens.^[1] The oil also demonstrates broad-spectrum antibacterial effects and quorum-sensing inhibition, while anethole's structural similarity to catecholamines underlies weak estrogenic activity noted in pharmacological studies.^[2]