Insight into the essential oil isolation from Foeniculum vulgare Mill. fruits using double-condensed microwave-assisted hydrodistillation and evaluation of its antioxidant, antifungal and cytotoxic activity

•Double-condensed microwave-assisted hydrodistillation of essential oil was studied.•First-order kinetic model reasonably explained the essential oil isolation process.•trans-Anethole was detected as the major component of fennel essential oil.•The applied technique provided higher efficiency for the essential oil separation.•Fennel essential oil exerted better antioxidant, antifungal and cytotoxic activity.