Anise (Pimpinella anisum) has a long history of use in traditional medicine, particularly in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and South Asian cultures. In these traditions, anise seeds have been used as a galactagogue—an agent that promotes or increases breast milk production, not to "dry up" milk. However, you are asking about the use of anise to reduce or "dry up" breast milk. Here, the evidence is much weaker and less consistent.

Most traditional herbal sources and ethnobotanical records associate anise with enhancing lactation, rather than suppressing it. Some folk traditions may use strong anise infusions or large quantities for the opposite effect (to reduce milk), but these are rare and not widely documented or standardized. The phytochemicals in anise, such as anethole, can have mild estrogenic effects, which may theoretically influence milk production, but the majority of anecdotal and historical use points toward supporting milk flow, not suppressing it.

Scientific research on this specific use is lacking. Modern clinical studies focus on anise’s safety and potential for increasing breast milk, but there are no high-quality studies supporting its use to "dry up" breast milk. Therefore, claims about anise for this purpose are primarily based on sporadic traditional use, with little to no scientific backing.