Asafoetida

Asafoetida is a plant that has a foul smell and tastes bitter. It is sometimes called "devil's dung."

People use asafoetida resin, a gum-like material, as medicine. Asafoetida resin is produced by solidifying juice from cuts made in the plant's living roots. People use asafoetida for conditions such as breathing or throat problems, digestion problems. Asafoetida is also sometimes applied directly to the skin for corns and calluses, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

In manufacturing, asafoetida is used as a fragrance in cosmetics and as a flavouring ingredient in foods and beverages. Asafoetida is also used in products meant to repel dogs, cats, and wildlife.

Asafoetida (Ferula asafoetida) is the dried sap obtained from the roots of Ferula plants.

While it's native to Afghanistan and Iraq, asafoetida is commonly used in Indian cuisine, where it's dried, ground into a spice, and referred to as hing.

In addition to flavouring food, asafoetida has also been used for centuries worldwide for its perceived health benefits.

Local names: Hing, Asafetida, Ingo, Inguva

Plant Sources: Ferula asafoetida and allied species (Ferula foetida and Ferula narthex).

Family: Umbelliferae

Distribution: The perennial asafoetida plants have several varieties and are native to the Mediterranean region and Central Asia, especially Iran and Afghanistan. The other species, known botanically as Ferula narthex, grow abundantly in Kashmir, Western Tibet and Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, Iran and Turkistan are major producing countries. Ferula gum-resins are imported to India, mainly from Iran and Afghanistan. A part of the imported gum resin is re-exported to various countries after some processing and value addition.

Harvesting/Collection of Gum-Resin

Method of harvesting/tapping: The gum resin is obtained from incisions in the roots and rhizomes of the plants. Usually, plants of sour to five years old develop very thick and fleshy, carrot-shaped roots.

The upper part of the root is laid bare, and the stem is cut close to the crown. The exposed surface is covered by a dome-shaped structure made of twigs and earth. A milky juice exudes from the cut surface, which soon coagulates when exposed to air. After some days, the exudate gum resin is scraped off, and a fresh root slice is cut.

Processing and Value Addition

The milk juice obtained from the root becomes a brown, resin-like mass after drying. Asafoetida is processed and marketed either as lumps or in powdered form. The lump asafoetida is the most common form of pure asafoetida. The trading form is either the virgin resin or so-called "compounded asafoetida", a fine powder consisting of more than 50% of rice flour and gum arabic to prevent lumping. The advantage of the compounded Sorin is that it is easier to dose.

The gum-resin is also steam distilled to obtain the essential oil known as Oil of Asafoetida.

Properties

• Asafoetida has a powerful odour and a bitter, acrid taste due to sulphur compounds in it.
• Asafoetida contains about 40–60 per cent of resin, 25 per cent of gum, 10 per cent of volatile essential oil and other compounds like ash.

• The resin consists chiefly of asaresinotannol, free or combined with ferulic acid.
• An analysis of asafoetida shows it consists of carbohydrates 67.8 per cent per 100 gms, moisture 16.0 per cent, protein 4.0 per cent, fat 1.1 per cent, minerals 7.0 per cent and fibre 4.1 per cent. It is mineral and vitamin contents include calcium besides phosphorus, iron, carotene, riboflavin and niacin.

Uses

• Asafoetida has long been used as a food flavouring and medicinal herb. It is still sometimes used in modern herbalists, where it is especially valued in treating hysteria, some nervous conditions, bronchitis, asthma, and whooping cough.

• The gum resin is antispasmodic, carminative, expectorant, laxative, sedative. The volatile oil in the gum is eliminated through the lungs, making this an excellent treatment for asthma.
• It is used as a flavouring agent and forms a constituent of many spice mixtures.
• Asafoetida is useful in the treatment of respiratory disorders like whooping cough, asthma and bronchitis.
• It is reputed as a drug that expels wind from the stomach and counteracts any spasmodic disorders. It is also a nervine stimulant, digestive agent and sedative.

Indigenous growth

The IHBT plantation drive, held under the State Department of Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh, hopes to reduce India's reliance on imported raw stock.

Cold desert areas of India such as Lahaul and Spiti, Ladakh, parts of Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh are suitable for the cultivation of ferula. In inclement weather conditions, it is known to go dormant.

"The country imports about 1,540 tonnes of raw asafoetida annually from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan and spends approximately ₹942 crores per year on it. It is important for India to become self-sufficient in hing production in an email interview," says Sanjay Kumar, Director, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur.

Dr Kumar, who planted the first ferula seedling on October 15 in a field in Kwaring village of Lahaul valley, led a team comprising fellow scientists Ashok Kumar, Ramesh and Sanatsujat Singh in the trial project.

How to Make Hing Dal — Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tsp — ghee/oil
• 1 tsp — cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/4 tsp — Hing (asafoetida)
• 1/2 cup (100 g) — moong dal (split yellow dal)
• 1 — green chilli, slit lengthwise
• 1/2 tsp — turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp — salt (or to taste)
• 1.25 cup (250 ml) — water
• 2 tsp — chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Directions:-

• Wash and soak moong dal, in 2 cups of water, for half an hour. Drain out the water.
• Heat oil/ghee in a pressure cooker on low heat. Add jeera (cumin seeds) and fry on low heat until fragrant and light brown.
• Add Hing and stir well on low heat.
• Add drained moong dal and fry for 2–3 minutes.
• Add green chilli and turmeric powder. Stir well for 2–3 minutes.
• Add salt to taste and 250 ml water (1.25 cups). Close the pressure cooker and cook on high heat for three whistles.
• Switch off the heat. Allow the cooker to cool naturally.
• Open the lid and gently mash the boiled Hing dal.
• Sprinkle ghee (optional) and chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with rice or Rotis.