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The Indian cooking spice asafoetida1,2 — a reputation that interprets into “rotten resin”3 — also referred to as hing, hingu4 or heeng,5 is a gum obtained from a kind of big fennel. It has an offensive odor akin to that of rotting garlic and sweaty ft, however an appetizing savory, umami style. In France, the herb is called satan’s dung.
In response to GoodFood.com,6 Jain and Brahmin Indians have lengthy used it in lieu of garlic and onions. It’s additionally standard amongst these in whom onions trigger digestive hassle.
Whereas it’s typically doable to find asafoetida in its uncooked gum kind, it’s mostly bought as a floor powder combined with flour, starch or turmeric. That is doubtless a very good factor, as consuming it uncooked may cause extreme diarrhea and/or vomiting.7 It has a really sturdy odor and ought to be utilized in very small quantities. As famous by GoodFood.com:8
“As soon as a container of asafoetida has been opened it’s finest to shut it as quickly as doable. Then, preserve it hermetically sealed in an hermetic plastic container, or double wrapped — a minimum of. If the aroma escapes you’ll awake to discover a home reeking of yesterday’s garlic …
Usually, the yellow, diluted asafoetida powder is utilized in concerning the proportion of a pinch or two to 250g of the principle ingredient … longer cooking mellows it …
Asafoetida works finest when first fried for 5 to 10 seconds in scorching oil till its pungency is dramatically apparent — be sure to have the extractor on or the window open. Then shortly add different components to cease it burning.”
Well being Advantages of Asafoetida
With its onion-garlic taste, you should use it as an alternative choice to both of these components. Many suggest utilizing it in bean-based dishes, because it helps forestall gassiness.9
Its capability to chop gasoline is attributed to antibacterial compounds that impede the exercise of intestine micro organism liable for flatulence.10 It additionally has a variety of different well being advantages,11 together with antibacterial, antiparasitic and antiviral properties.
In 2009, researchers found sure compounds within the herb had been simpler at killing the H1N1 influenza virus than the business antiviral drug amantadine.12,13
One other examine14 discovered the ferulic acid in asafoetida has the flexibility to regulate fascioliasis,15 a zoonotic liver illness (that means it could unfold between animals and folks) brought on by consuming watercress or different water crops contaminated with Fasciola hepatica and/or Fasciola gigantica.
In response to a paper16 within the Pharmacognosy Evaluation, asafoetida additionally has antispasmodic, carminative, expectorant, laxative and sedative properties, simply to call just a few. Historic makes use of embrace the remedy of hysteria, nervous situations, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, whooping cough, childish pneumonia and flatulent colic.17
In response to the Pharmacognosy Evaluation paper, it’s significantly helpful for bronchial asthma, due to unstable oils which can be eradicated by the lungs. It’s additionally been proven to work as a pure blood thinner and helps decrease blood stress. In conventional drugs in India, the herb is taken to assist break up and get rid of kidney stones and gallstones.18
Traditionally, it has additionally been used as an antidote to opium. In response to the Pharmacognosy Evaluation, “Given in the same amount as opium ingested by the affected person, it is going to counteract the impact of the drug.”19
Asafoetida Has Anticancer and Life Extending Properties
Asafoetida additionally comprises a variety of chemical substances proven to have anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antimutagenic actions.20 As reported within the Pharmacognosy Evaluation:21
“Dried resin, administered orally to Sprague–Dawley rats at doses of 1.25 and a pair of.5% w/w of the weight loss program, produced a big discount within the multiplicity and dimension of palpable N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mammary tumors, and a delay in imply latency interval of tumor look.
Oral administration to mice elevated the proportion of life span by 52.9%. Intraperitoneal administration didn’t produce any important discount in tumor progress.
The extract additionally inhibited a two-stage chemical carcinogenesis induced by 7,12-dimethylbenzathracene and croton oil on mice pores and skin with important discount in papilloma formation.”
Equally, a examine22 printed within the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Drugs in 2017 confirmed the asafoetida resin had antitumor results towards breast most cancers. In response to the authors:23
“Our outcomes confirmed that remedy with asafoetida was efficient in lowering the tumor weight and tumor quantity in handled mice. Physique weight considerably elevated in feminine BALB/c mice towards management.
Other than the antitumor impact, asafoetida decreased lung, liver and kidney metastasis and likewise elevated areas of necrosis within the tumor tissue respectively.”
Different research24 have additionally discovered the remoted ferulsinaic acid in asafoetida has life extending functionality, growing the imply life span of Caenorhabditis elegans by as a lot as 18.03%, and their most life span between 8.33% and 41.6%.
Improved warmth stress tolerance and reductions in lipid peroxidation are considered liable for this impact. In response to the authors, “Ferulsinaic acid had therapeutic efficacy as an antioxidant with the potential of its use as an antioxidant drug.”
Asafoetida’s Usefulness in Remedy of Ladies’s Illnesses
Asafoetida may additionally be helpful within the remedy of quite a lot of feminine well being illnesses, corresponding to sterility, untimely labor, painful and extreme menstruation and leucorrhoea.
The Pharmacognosy Evaluation25 suggests taking 12 centigrams of asafoetida gum fried in ghee with 120 grams of recent goat’s milk and 1 tablespoon of honey, thrice a day for 4 weeks, to extend secretion of progesterone, which may be useful in these conditions.
In male rats, asafoetida at doses between 25 and 200 mg/kg has been proven to considerably enhance the quantity and viability of sperm, thus enhancing fertility.26
Care should be used should you’re pregnant or planning to grow to be pregnant,27 nevertheless, as asafoetida additionally has the flexibility to forestall being pregnant and induce miscarriage. Antifertility results have been famous in rats at a dosage of 400 mg/kg, stopping being pregnant in 80% of circumstances.28,29
Breastfeeding ladies must also keep away from asofoetida as it may be transferred through breast milk to their child, in whom sure chemical substances within the herb could contribute to sure blood problems.30 To deal with colic, asafoetida is often utilized to the toddler’s navel within the type of a paste, against being ingested.31
Mind and Cardiovascular Advantages
As talked about, the herb has been proven to decrease blood stress, and seems to be fairly efficient at this, the Pharmacognosy Evaluation notes.32 One of many mechanisms liable for this hypotensive impact is vasodilation. Tinctures and water extracts of dried gum resin has been proven to have a big clean muscle relaxant and anticoagulant results.33
Furthermore, sure compounds seem to have the flexibility to inhibit acetylcholinesterase,34,35 which implies it might be helpful towards Alzheimer’s illness.36 In animal trials, asafoetida at doses of 200 to 400 milligrams per kilo has additionally been proven to enhance reminiscence formation.
Asafoetida Helps Promote Intestine Well being
One other space by which this smelliest of herbs may be helpful is for the prevention and remedy of assorted intestine illnesses. One examine37 taking a look at asafoetida’s results on practical dyspepsia (FD), a power dysfunction of the higher digestive tract,38 discovered it to be each protected and efficient. As reported on this examine:39
“Within the double-blinded, placebo-controlled examine, 43 topics identified to have average to extreme discomforts of nonulcer FD had been randomized to obtain hard-shell capsules (250 mg × 2/day) of both placebo or a food-grade formulation of asafoetida (Asafin) for 30 days.
When evaluated by a set of validated indexing instruments … nearly 81% within the Asafin group confirmed important enchancment within the general rating and high quality of life as in comparison with the placebo. On the finish of the examine, 66% of topics within the Asafin group remained symptoms-free.
Though the signs rating improved considerably in each the teams … the relative proportion of topics within the Asafin group with greater than 80% discount in varied signs had been: bloating (58%), urge for food (69%), postprandial fullness (74%) movement illness (75%), and digestion (77%) as in comparison with lower than 10% nonspecific enchancment within the placebo group.
All the topics remained protected with no antagonistic occasions or variations in haematological and biochemical parameters.”
Cooking With Asafoetida
If the thought of smelling up your kitchen isn’t a deterrent, take into account spicing up your meals with this medicinal herb.
In “Asafoetida Stinks, However It Helps the Prepare dinner,”40 printed in The Seattle Instances, Monica Bhide particulars how one can use it in cooking, and supplies you with a recipe for savory cheesecake topped with purple pepper and inexperienced tomatillo chutney to get you began.
Extra cooking ideas may be discovered on NDTV’s Meals Channel,41 and a recipe for lemon-asafoetida water is given on netmeds.com.42
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