asafoetida
Sign in to saveAlso known as stinking gum, Devil's dung
Asafoetida (/æsəˈfɛtɪdə/; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex (gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of Ferula, perennial herbs of the carrot family. It is produced in Iran, Afghanistan, India, Central Asia and north-western China (Xinjiang). Different regions have different botanical sources.
~81 min read
Encyclopedic overview
41 sectionsContents
- Characteristics
- Description
- Commercial varieties
- Related products
- Names
- Spelling and etymology
- Other languages
- Historical aspects
- Substitute for silphium
- ''Sweet asa'' and ''asafoetida''
- Travelers' accounts
- Botanical discoveries and debates
- Botanical sources
- Main species
- Other cited sources
- Cultivation, extraction, and processing
- Cultivation parameters
- Harvest
- Processing and derived products
- Composition and phytochemistry
- Ferulic acid
- Sesquiterpene coumarins
- Organosulfur compounds
- Effects and toxicity
- Functional properties
- Toxicity
- Uses
- Spice
- Botanical drug
- Perfume and incense
- Pesticide and other uses
- Economic aspects
- Production and trade
- Adulteration and quality standards
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
- Historical works
- Encyclopedic entries
- Scientific articles
Asafoetida (/æsəˈfɛtɪdə/; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex (gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of Ferula, perennial herbs of the carrot family. It is produced in Iran, Afghanistan, India, Central Asia and north-western China (Xinjiang). Different regions have different botanical sources.
Like other related resins, including galbanum and sagapenum, asafoetida was known in Greco-Roman antiquity. Its historical use partly overlaps with that of the now-extinct silphium, a plant highly valued in the ancient Mediterranean world for its reputed medicinal and culinary properties. Asafoetida is frequently mentioned in Ayurvedic texts, later in Arabo-Persian medical treatises, in , in the literature of traditional Chinese medicine, and in the pharmacopoeias of the early modern period.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “asafoetida” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.