Food of the Gods, Hing,
Hiltit, Devils Dung, Bazaars, Kandaharre Hing
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Found in Aral in 1844, native of
Afghanistan,growing two to four thousand feet above sea level.
Cabbage like
heads are eaten raw.
Fruit used for medicine and sent to India for
manufacture.(known as Bazaars and Kandaharre Hing)
Characteristic odor
stronger than an onion,bitter taste.
Vile taste, so given as a pill. Asafetida is
a foetid brownish gum, hence its name.
Called "Hiltit" by middle ages Arabic
physicians.
Odor described as a combination of rotted garlic and used
socks.
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volatile oil,10%,50%
gummy oleoresin resin-25 %,
free ferulic
acid,terpenes,disulphides and pinene
water
some impurities
Chemically, asafoetida
contains volatile oil, resin, gum and impurities.
The resinous constituents are
asaresinol ferulate, and free ferulic acid (hydroxymethoxy-cinnamic acid)
urnbelliferibne-a lactone of umbellic acid formed on boiling the resin with
hydrochloric acid and filtering into ammonia,
umbellic acid (dihydroxycinnamic
acid) is also present.
Disulphides and sugars form the other components
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stimulant action for the brain
local stimulant to mucous membrane, esp:
alimentary tract
asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough.
flatulent colich
hysteria
infantile pneumonia
condiment (eg Worcestershire sauce)
In ayurveda, the gum is
used to improve appetite and digestion. It also relieves colic and flatulence.
In Malaysia it is used for abdominal distress.
In Japan it is used as a
vermifuge and for stomachache.
It is also a valued carminative, antispasmodic
and is used in dyspepsia and in bronchitis.
There is also a claim that it has an
anti-opiate effect.
It is applied in and around the umbilicus in cases of
gaseous distension.
East Indian cuisine
charms and spells
Uses listed are from Ayurvedic medicine
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