A myth that collapses. It’s a kind of grandmother’s recipe: fennel infusion has long been recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding women. It is said that this herbal infusion, made with the seeds of this plant native to the Mediterranean basin, promotes breastfeeding. It is also sometimes given to babies because it is said to aid digestion and relieve colic.
On the Internet, there are many sites that extol its merits. This medicinal plant is also traditionally used to relieve coughs, menstrual pains or even digestive disorders. Although few scientific works have addressed this topic, two published studies in 2020 in the international journal of pediatrics Consider these benefits.
“Fennel tea is widely and almost systematically recommended in maternity wards during the postpartum period to stimulate lactation in nursing mothers and relieve digestive disorders in newborns,” says Emanuela Gerhard, co-vice president of the Swiss Federation of Midwives. . by BFMTV.com – our Swiss neighbors have raised the issue with France.
“Although it was not necessarily systematic, it was advice given,” adds Eliette Bruneau, president of the National Association of Liberal Midwives of France.
A potentially carcinogenic compound in fennel
If these two midwives use the past tense in their statements, it is because a press release from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), whose last publication dates back to January 31, 2024, questions the consumption of fennel tea. In fact, excessive consumption could be dangerous for your health.
The EMA’s Herbal Medicinal Products Committee (HMPC) underlines that “several studies” carried out in vitro in rats and mice and in human liver cells, “have demonstrated the carcinogenic and genotoxic effects of estragole”, an aromatic organic compound. which is found in fennel. Genotoxicity is the ability to damage DNA.
For this reason, the health agency is categorical: “In the general population, exposure to estragole should be kept as low as possible.”
It recommends that adults do not exceed “the guideline value of 0.05 milligrams of estragole per person per day.”
But it specifically warns, as a precaution, pregnant and breastfeeding women who may be forced to consume fennel herbal infusions. “Safety during pregnancy and breastfeeding has not been established […] In the absence of sufficient data, its use during pregnancy and breastfeeding is not recommended,” the EMA note reads.
Likewise, unless otherwise indicated, the European agency does not recommend its consumption by children under four years of age.
“In the case of pregnant women, this can be passed on to the fetus. Immature children have more difficulties metabolizing certain substances. Therefore, the EMA aims to protect against the risk of cancer,” says Sylvie Michel, professor and member of the National Academy of Pharmacy, contacted by. BFMTV.com.
It must be understood that at the moment nothing has been established and it is because of this lack of knowledge that the European Medicines Agency calls for caution.
Estragole content difficult to measure
The difficulty lies in the great variability of the estragole content in the infusions. “The estragole content varies from one plant to another. In most cases we will not reach dangerous doses, but the problem is that we do not know,” emphasizes the pharmacognosist. “We know that the risk is associated with high content, but we do not know this content.”
According to the study, concentration levels of estragole range between 241 and 2,058 micrograms per liter in bagged teas. Knowing that the temperature of the water and the duration of the infusion can influence this content and that squeezing the bag at the end of the infusion time can increase it.
If in Switzerland the media, primarily RTS radio and television, addressed the issue following a publication by the Swiss Federation of Midwives, in France communications on this topic are scarce. According to our research, at this time only the National Association of Liberal Midwives and the Breastfeeding Information Association seem to have expressed this publicly in France.
Whether the National College of Midwives of France, the French Society of Gynecology or the National College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians, contacted by BFMTV.com, none had information on the matter. The same goes for health agencies. The European Medicines Agency invited us to contact the “competent authority in France”, i.e. the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products, represented in the committee for medicinal products derived from plants that issued the warnings in question.
This agency, for its part, assured us that it was not competent in this matter, since fennel infusions are classified in the “food” category. The National Agency for Food Safety, Environmental and Occupational Health also did not follow up, as did the General Directorate of Food. The High Health Authority declared itself incompetent in this regard.
If “the members and alternates of the HPMC from all EU Member States have the right to communicate at national level the opinions adopted by the committee”, there is no obligation on them, according to the EMA.
“We should not be afraid”
The specialists who have spoken on this topic emphasize that, however, we should not be alarmist with the consumption of fennel infusions. “We must not scare all these women who have consumed fennel, we must warn of the risks but without scaring,” says Eliette Bruneau, president of the national association of liberal midwives of France. The midwives who are members of this association received the information, with the aim of being able to “give informed information to patients.”
And he adds: “In vitro studies have been done, now in vivo studies are needed, this alert should lead to more studies.”
While in Switzerland, a parapharmacist told Rhône FM radio that “this study has generated some anxiety among people concerned about breastfeeding,” no adverse effects have been observed among generations of women who have drunk fennel tea.
Source: BFM TV
