Saunf Water Benefits: Fennel Seed Water for Digestion & More

What Is Saunf Water?

This remedy has stayed in Indian kitchens for generations. You have chewed the seeds after a heavy biryani. The little bowl of coloured saunf by the cash counter is fennel.

Fennel is Foeniculum vulgare. Its seeds carry anethole, fenchone and estragole. Those three give it the sweet, liquorice-like taste. Anethole is the main one: it makes up most of fennel seed oil, says a 2014 review by Indian scientists. The dry seeds are also rich in minerals. USDA lists 1,690 mg of potassium, 1,200 mg of calcium and 385 mg of magnesium in 100 grams of fennel seed. A glass of saunf water uses only about a teaspoon of seeds, and you strain them out, so the glass carries just a small part of that.

Sombu Water, Perunjeeragam, Variyali: Saunf by Its Other Names

If you came here looking for sombu water benefits, you are in the right place. Sombu is Tamil for fennel. So is perunjeeragam, which translates roughly as "big cumin" — a good description, because fennel seed does look like a longer, paler jeera.

Badishep, saunf or fennel in Tamil: fennel seed is called sombu (சோம்பு) in Tamil. Badishep is the Marathi word and saunf is the Hindi word for the same seed. Perunjeeragam (பெருஞ்சீரகம்) is another Tamil name, so yes, perunjeeragam and sombu are the same. You may also see sombu spelt sompu. In English, saunf ka pani is called fennel seed water or fennel water. Hot sombu water is simply the boiled version, Method 2 below.

Sombu tanni (Tamil), variyali nu pani (Gujarati) and saunf ka pani (Hindi) all describe one thing: fennel seed steeped in water. The method below is the same in every kitchen that makes it.

Saunf ka pani kaise banaye: ek glass paani mein ek chhota chammach saunf raat bhar bhigo dein. Subah chaan kar pee lein. Ya phir do cup paani mein ek chammach saunf daal kar paanch minute ubaalein, chaan lein, aur halka garam piyein. (One teaspoon of fennel in a glass of water overnight, strained in the morning — or one teaspoon boiled in two cups of water for five minutes, strained, drunk warm.)

7 Saunf Water Benefits

1. Digestion

Fennel has been used for stomach trouble in many countries for a long time. Lab and animal studies show fennel can ease spasms in the gut, says the 2014 review. Good trials of saunf water itself in people are still missing. If you feel heavy after a meal, a warm glass is a gentle, low-risk thing to try.

2. Bloating and Gas Relief

Fennel is a carminative — a food used to help you pass gas. In lab studies its oil relaxes gut muscle, which may help trapped gas move. That is one reason the bowl of saunf sits by the till. No study has timed how fast saunf water works, so judge it by how you feel.

Traditional use: Fennel has a long folk use for infant colic, and one randomised placebo-controlled trial supports it: Alexandrovich I et al., Altern Ther Health Med 2003;9(4):58-61 (PMID 12868253) treated 125 infants aged 2 to 12 weeks and eliminated colic in 65 per cent of the fennel group against 23.7 per cent on placebo. That is one trial, in infants, with fennel seed oil emulsion — not a glass of saunf water — so do not read it as a licence to give a baby this drink. See the FAQ below.

3. Weight Loss Support

Fennel may take the edge off hunger. In a small 2015 trial, 9 overweight women drank fennel tea before lunch. They felt less hungry and more full than after a dummy tea. But they ate about the same amount at the lunch buffet. Most of the seed fibre stays in the strainer, so saunf water itself has very little fibre. A glass between meals may help you skip a snack. It will not cause weight loss on its own.

4. Breath Freshener

Fennel seeds have long been chewed to remove mouth smell. Lab studies also show fennel extracts can act against some bacteria. That is why saunf is India's favourite mouth freshener. The water is likely weaker than chewing the seed.

5. Blood Pressure Support

Fennel seeds are rich in potassium, but a strained glass carries only a little of it. The animal work that gets quoted for blood pressure is El Bardai S et al., Clinical and Experimental Hypertension 2001;23(4):329-43 (PMID 11349824): an oral fennel extract lowered systolic blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats, and not in normal rats. The authors say fennel seemed to work mainly by making the rats pass more water and salt. Read that as a lead, not a result — it is rats, not people, and no human trial has repeated it.

6. Lactation Support

Fennel is used as a galactagogue — a food believed to raise milk supply. Indian grandmothers have said so for generations. The published evidence is thin: a few small studies, no large trial. Treat it as tradition with a hint of support.

7. Skin Health

Fennel carries compounds that act as antioxidants and calm inflammation in lab studies. Those may help skin. A daily glass gives you a small dose. Some people also rinse their face with cooled saunf water for acne. There is no trial behind that last one.

How to Make Saunf Water

Best Time to Drink Saunf Water

After meals: This is the most traditional timing. Drink a glass of saunf water after lunch or dinner to aid digestion and prevent bloating.

Morning (empty stomach): The overnight soak (Method 1) is ready when you wake up, so many people drink it first thing. A glass before breakfast may take the edge off hunger. If it upsets an empty stomach, drink it after a meal instead.

Before bed (at night): Yes, you can drink saunf water at night. It has no caffeine. Some people find a warm glass after dinner settles the stomach before sleep. There is no good study on fennel and sleep, so treat any calming effect as personal experience.

Side Effects — Who Should Avoid Saunf Water?

• Estrogenic effects: Anethole mimics estrogen. In large doses, fennel may affect hormone-sensitive conditions like endometriosis, uterine fibroids, or certain cancers. The 1 teaspoon a day in this recipe is a normal kitchen amount; avoid large doses and fennel oil unless your doctor agrees.
• Allergies: Fennel belongs to the Apiaceae family (same as carrots, celery, coriander). Cross-allergies are possible.
• Pregnancy: Fennel used as a spice in food is common. But because of its estrogen-like activity, avoid large amounts and fennel oil, and ask your doctor before drinking it daily.
• Medication interactions: In lab and animal studies, fennel slowed blood clotting, acted like a weak estrogen and blocked a liver enzyme that breaks down many medicines. So ask your doctor if you take blood thinners, hormone pills or any other regular medicine.

2-in-1 Infuser Bottle for Saunf Water

For seeds, spices, and leaves (saunf, jeera, green tea): Insert the full SS infuser. Seeds stay inside the mesh. Water infuses through. No loose seeds in your mouth.

For fruit slices and large ingredients (lemon, cucumber, berries): Remove the infuser. Add slices directly into the bottle water. Replace just the top part — it acts as a strainer/filter when you sip.