Family : Apiaceae

Synonyms : A. graveolens

English : Dill, Garden dill

Hindi : Soya

Gujarati : Suva

Sanskrit : Satapushpa

Part used : Fruit

Botanical Description: A glabrous aromatic annual herb, 30-90cm in height with hollow finely grooved stem, striped dark green and white with bluish spots; leaves compound, 2-3 pinnate, bluish green, segments filiform, leafsheath surrounds the stem; flowers yellow, in flat compound umbels; fruits narrowly winged. Vittae large and conspicuous. Flowering and fruiting from December to April.

It is found throughout India and widely cultivated.

Modern Pharmacological Action: Essential oil and extract of dill have been reported to possess various degrees of antimycobactetial activity and this property may probably be due to the presence of furanocoumarin in dill5. Dlimonene and D-carvone, have exhibited strong antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans6.