Asafetida
Scientific Name(s): Ferula assa-foetida L.
Common Name(s): Asa Foetida, Asafetida, Asafoetida, Devil's dung, Gum asafoetida, Hing, Stinkasant
Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Sep 13, 2021.
Clinical Overview
Use
The gum resin asafetida is used as a flavoring, food preservative, and fragrance. It is used as a folk remedy for a wide variety of purposes, including carminative, antispasmodic, expectorant, sedative diuretic, anthelminthic, aphrodisiac, and emmenagogue. Antiviral activity has been demonstrated in vitro against the influenza A virus (H1N1). There is no clinical evidence to support therapeutic claims.
Dosing
There is no clinical evidence to support dosage recommendations. Traditionally, a daily dosage of asafetida resin 200 to 500 mg is used for medicinal purposes.
Contraindications
May cause methemoglobinemia in children.
Pregnancy/Lactation
Ethanolic extracts of F. assa-foetida have prevented successful implantation in rats. Asafetida has been used traditionally as an emmenagogue and abortifacient. Avoid use.
Interactions
None well documented.
Adverse Reactions
None well documented.
Toxicology
Potentially life-threatening to infants; however, ingestion has not been associated with severe toxicity in adults.
Scientific Family
- Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)
Botany
Indigenous to eastern Iran and western Afghanistan, asafetida is the gum resin obtained from the roots and rhizomes of F. assa-foetida. In Afghanistan, the plant grows wild at elevations of 0.61 to 1.22 km on plains that are arid in winter and where few other plants survive. The plant reaches a height of up to 2 m and bears clusters of pale, greenish-yellow flowers and an oval fruit. All parts of the plant have a distinctive fetid odor. Extraction of the gum begins just before flowering. After the stalks are cut close to the ground and the roots are exposed and slashed, a milky liquid oozes out. The liquid then dries to form a resin and a fresh cut is made. The process is continued for about 3 months from the first incision; a single plant may yield up to 1 kg of resin before it dries out. The fresh gum is a soft, semiliquid mass that undergoes a gradual color change from shimmering yellowish-white to reddish-brown.Carrubba 1979, Kurzyna-Mtynik 2008, USDA 2010 A synonym is Ferula foetida [Bunge] Regal).
History
The common name "asafetida" is derived from the Farsi word aza (resin) and the Latin foetidus (smelling, fetid). Many unusual medical claims have been made for the resin, most stemming from the belief that its fetid odor acts as a deterrent to germs. The shock of the sulfurous smell was once thought to calm hysteria and, in the days of the American Wild West, asafetida was included in a mixture with other strong spices as a cure for alcoholism.
Asafetida has been used for abdominal tumors and as a carminative, intestinal spasmodic, abortifacient, aphrodisiac, diuretic, sedative, and stimulant. Use in respiratory conditions, such as asthma, bronchitis, and whooping cough, has also been documented, and in 1918 asafetida was used in the Spanish influenza pandemic. Today, asafetida is commonly used as a fragrance component in perfumes and in minute quantities in Asian vegetarian cooking. The antiflatulent qualities are utilized in dishes containing large quantities of pulses such as beans or lentils. It is sold as a spice and food preservative and, at very low levels, has been used in candies, beverages, relishes, and sauces.Duke 1985, Eigner 1999,
