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Ferula assa-foetida L. (Apiaceae/Umbelliferae)

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Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants

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Abstract

It is a perennial herb, a species native to the deserts of Iran, mountains of Afghanistan and Turkistan, and is cultivated in India. In all stages of its growth, every part of the plant exudes, upon abrasion, a milky juice which is collected and the dried latex (oleogum resin) is marketed as asafetida that has a fetid smell. In European medicine, hing was used as a stimulant and antispasmodic in chronic bronchitis, hysteria and tympanites. It helps digestion of foods that are not easily digestible, and does not produce flatulence or borborygmy. In Iranian traditional medicine, asafoetida is used as antispasmodic, anthelminthic, carminative and analgesic. In Unani medicine, it is also regarded as carminative, antispasmodic, antiseptic, diuretic, nerve tonic, aphrodisiac, emmenagogue, rubefacient and phlegm-expectorant, and beneficial in nerve diseases, such as epilepsy, palsy, tremors, tetanus, and splenic diseases. In Ayurveda, it is used in nervous and neurotic diseases, such as hysteria and hypochondriasis; in habitual cough, chronic catarrh, bronchitis and asthma. In TCM, it is regarded as vermicide, sedative, antispasmodic and digestive, and in Fiji, water extract of the dried gum is used for the treatment of upset stomach. The oleo-gum-resin contains about 40–64% resin, 25% endogeneous gum, and 10–17% volatile oil; major constituents of the resin are phenolic compounds, such as ferulic acid and its esters, sesquiterpene coumarins, umbelliferone, coumarin derivatives, such as foetidin and kamolonol, farnesiferoles A, B and C. Asafoetida exhibited significant analgesic effect on chronic and acute pain in mice, and exhibited antioxidant and LOX inhibitory activities. Methanol extract of asafoetida showed inhibitory activity against COX-1 enzyme. Oral asafoetida significantly increased urine volume, excretion of Na+, K+ and creatinine clearance in normal rats.

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  1. Stockton, CA, USA

    Shahid Akbar

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Akbar, S. (2020). Ferula assa-foetida L. (Apiaceae/Umbelliferae). In: Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16807-0_97

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