Comparison of five accessions of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) from five locations with chemical parameters Available to Purchase

People in Indonesia have used fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) as a raw material for medicine. As we know, the efficacy of a medicinal plant is related to its active compounds. Genetic, environmental, and technical cultural factors influence the active compounds in plants. The supply of medicinal plant raw materials based on the stock of plants in nature will not guarantee their quality and continuity. For this reason, it must carry a production approach through cultivation technology intervention and discovering the superior accession potential of natural populations. The location of growing affects the quality of medicinal plants. It is due to the different environmental factors that plants respond to during their growth. This study aims to compare fennel plants obtained from five locations. We have conducted research in 2016. Measurements were carried out on four parameters: total ash content, acid insoluble ash content, ethanol soluble extract content, and water-soluble extract content. We compared the parameters measured with the Indonesian Herbal Pharmacopoeia (FHI). Samples from five locations (Karanganyar, Boyolali, Malang, Bandung, and Padang) were analyzed for ash content and extracts in the laboratory. Based on the parameters of total ash and acid insoluble ash content, all samples met the FHI criteria. They were below 13.1% for total ash content and below 2.7% for acid insoluble ash content. Meanwhile, based on the content of ethanol-soluble and water-soluble extract, the fennel from Boyolali did not meet FHI. The ethanol-soluble extract content was less than 8.6%, and the water-soluble extract content was less than 20%. On this parameter, the fennel from Karanganyar has the highest value.