Assafoetida, Asafetida, A Wei 阿魏

Asafoetida
Hing, Hingu  (Ayurveda)
A Wei 阿魏 (TCM)
Hilteet (Unani)
Shing kun  ཤིང་ཀུན  (Tibetan)
Picture
Picture Ortus sanitatis, Cube, Johann von, 1501

Picture Atlas der officinellen pflanzen (2), Felix, 1899

Picture Lump of raw Asafetida gum
(Adam, 2022)

Picture Members CLICK HERE for the PRO VERSION

Botanical name:


Ferula asafetida
Other related sources include F. sinkiangensis

Parts used:


Gum
The root has similar therapeutic functions’ (Li Shi Zhen)

Temperature & Taste:


Hot, dry. Pungent, bitter.

Classification:


2H. CARMINATIVES     2K. RESOLVENT      2Q. ANODYNE
3G. EMMENAGOGUE     3K. EXPECTORANT
4j. NERVINES
TCM:
J. Regulate Qi     O. Promotes Digestion

Uses:


1. Warms the Womb, Moves Qi and Blood (West, Ayurveda):
-painful and difficult Menstruation
-chiefly for Suffocation of the Uterus: Hysteria and PMS
-“
Dissolves the coagulated blood in the abdominal cavity” (Avicenna)

2. Warms the Stomach, Benefits Digestion (West, TCM, Ayurveda, Tibetan):
-indigestion, colic, abdominal pain, poor appetite
-taken before meals to strengthen a weak stomach
-Food Stagnation
-‘dissolves indigestion due to overeating of meat’. (Zhu Zhen Heng)


3. Clears Wind, Stops Spasms (West, Tibetan):
-good for Wind diseases from Wind-Phlegm / Wind-Damp

-Spasms, Convulsions, Epilepsy, Neurasthenia, Nervous Prostration, Depression, Insanity
-“
Its actions in Epilepsy resemble those of Peony”. (Avicenna)

4. Warms the Kidneys (West, TCM, Ayurveda, Tibetan):
-Impotence, Premature Ejaculation, Spermatorrhea
-Arthritis, Edema (Tibetan Medicine)

5. Clears Cold Phlegm, Stops Cough (West, Ayurveda, Tibetan):
-spasmodic Cough, Asthma, chronic Bronchitis, Whooping Cough, Peri-pneumonia
-internal Abscesses (Avicenna)
-‘useful in internal tumours’ (Avicenna)

6. Clears Wind, Resists Poison (West, TCM, Ayurveda, Tibetan):
-used since ancient times as an antidote to Evil, Infectious and Epidemic diseases
-effective to prevent and treat Influenza; also Malaria
-“
applied on bite of Rabid Dog as also on Insect stings particularly that of the Scorpion and Tarantula”. (Avicenna)
-‘disperses invading pathogenic Wind’ (Li Xun)
-antidote to Aconite and Opium poisoning; also other Poisons
-‘detoxifies toxin of all kinds of mushrooms and vegetables’. (Da Ming)


7. Kills Worms:
-used for Worms
Gu syndrome (diseases caused by Parasites) (TCM)

8. Externally:

-Vulnerary; used for Wounds, Bruises
-externally for swelling of the Spleen, ‘suffocation of the Uterus’
-fumes of Asafetida and Goat’s horn, being burnt, was inhaled for Epilepsy
-smoke inhaled for Rhinitis and Sinusitis
-a small piece wrapped in linen or gauze can be put into the ear before sleep for Tinnitus.
-“U
sed as a kohl (collyrium) with honey, it proves beneficial in early stages of Cataract”. (Avicenna)
-“Corroded molars are filled with Asafetida or it is pasted with Frankincense on the teeth” (Avicenna)
-“Malignant necrotic swellings are scarified and asafetida is applied thereon with good results.” (Avicenna)
-“It is also a good remedy for the external and internal Abscesses”. (Avicenna)

Dose:


… available in PRO version

Correctives:
… available in PRO version

Substitute:


… available in PRO version

Preparation:


… available in PRO version
Picture

Main Combinations:


1. To promote Menstruation, cleanse the Uterus, to promote Labor, and for Hysteria;
i. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
ii. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
iii. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
iv. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
v. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
vi. Asafetida, … available in PRO version
2. Hysteria:
i. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
ii. Asafetida … available in PRO version
iii. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
iv. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
v. and to strongly promote Menstruation, combine Asafetida with … available in PRO version
vi. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
vii. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
viii. Asafetida, … available in PRO version
3. Infertility, Asafetida with … available in PRO version
4. Asthma or Bronchitis:
i. combine Asafetida with … available in PRO version
ii. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
iii. spasmodic Cough, Whopping Cough, Asafetida, … available in PRO version
5. Wind diseases: combine Asafetida with … available in PRO version
6. Epilepsy, Seizures:
i. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
ii. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
7. Nervous diseases, Spasms:
i. Neurosis, Asafetida with … available in PRO version
ii. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
iii. Asafetida with … available in PRO version
8. Hypochondriac Melancholy, Asafetida with … available in PRO version
9. Abdominal Obstruction, Asafetida, … available in PRO version
10. To promote Digestion and increase digestive Heat, Asafetida with … available in PRO version
11. All Wind diseases of the digestive system: combine Asafetida with … available in PRO version
12. Heart disorders from Wind, Heart pain, Asafetida, … available in PRO version
13. Diarrhea associated with weakness of the Stomach, combine Asafetida with … available in PRO version
14. Dysentery, Asafetida, … available in PRO version
15. Chronic Malaria, Asafetida with … available in PRO version
16. Abscesses, Carbuncles etc., combine Asafetida with … available in PRO version
17. In enemas, Asafetida with … available in PRO version

Major Formulas


Asafetida 25 (Shin kun nyer lnga) (Tibetan Medicine)
Mental Happiness (Sems kyi bde skyid) (Tibetan Medicine)

Cautions:


1. Best not used during pregnancy (despite having been used for Threatened Miscarriage)
2. Not used in Heat conditions.

Toxicity:


1. Evaluation of Toxicity Effects of Asafetida on Biochemical, Hematological, and Histological Parameters in Male Wistar Rats
2. Acute and subchronic toxicity assessment model of Ferula assa-foetida gum in rodents
3. . Sub-acute and acute toxicity of Ferula asafoetida and Silybum marianum formulation and effect of the formulation on delaying gastric emptying
4. Severe Methemoglobinemia Secondary to Ferula asafoetida Ingestion in an Infant: A Case Report

Main Preparations used:


Pills of Asafetida (either alone, made up with Distilled Vinegar, or Compound)

Click the Tabs above for more information on this Medicin
Whether the substance which the ancients called Laser was the same as the modern Aasafoetida, is a question that has been often discussed during the last three hundred years, and it is one upon which we shall attempt to offer no further evidence. Suffice it to say that Laser is mentioned along with products of India and Persia, among the articles on which duty was levied at the Roman custom house of Alexandria in the 2nd century.

Hingu,” doubtless meaning Asafoetida, occurs in many Sanskrit works, especially in epic poetry, but also in Susruta.

Asafoetida was certainly known to the Arabian and Persian geographers and travellers of the middle ages. One of these, Ali Istakhri, a native of Istakir, the ancient Persepolis, who lived in the 10th century, states that it produced abundantly in the desert between Sistan and Makran, and is much used by the people as a condi-ment. The region in question comprises a portion of Beluchistan.

The geographer Edrisi, who wrote about the middle
of the 12th century, asserts that asafoetida, called in Arabic Hiltit, is collected largely in a district of Afghanistan near Kaleh Bust, at the junction of the Helmand with the Arghundab, a locality still producing the drug. Other Arabian writers as quoted by Ibn Baytar, describe asafoetida in terms which show it to have been well known and much valued.

Matthaeus Platearius, who flourished in the second half of the 12th century, mentions asafoetida in his work on simple medicines, known as Circa installs, which was held in great esteem during the middle ages. It is also named a little later by Otho of Cremona, who remarks that the more foetid the drug, the better its quality. Like other productions of the East, asafoetida found its way in European commerce during the middle ages through the trading cities of Italy. It is worthy of remark that it is much less frequently mentioned by the older writers than galbanum, sagapenum and opopanax. In the 13th century, the “Physicians of Myddfai,” in Wales, considered asafoetida as one of the substances which every physician “ought to know and use.” (Pharmacographia, Fluckiger & Hanbury, 1879)
GENERAL / REVIEW
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review
Ferula asafoetida: Traditional uses and pharmacological activity
Metabolic Profile, Bioactivities, and Variations in the Chemical Constituents of Essential Oils of the Ferula Genus (Apiaceae)

ANTIMICROBIAL / ANTIBACTERIAL
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review
In Vitro Antioxidant and Bactericidal Efficacy of 15 Common Spices: Novel Therapeutics for Urinary Tract Infections?
Antibacterial activity of some Indian Ayurvedic preparations against enteric bacterial pathogens
Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil Obtained from the Seed and Oleo-Gum-Resin of Ferula Assa-Foetida against Oral Pathogens

ANTI-VIRAL
Anti-Viral Evaluation of Sesquiterpene Coumarins from Ferula assa-foetida against HSV-1
Antiviral Potential of Selected Medicinal Herbs and Their Isolated Natural Products
The human rhinovirus: human‐pathological impact, mechanisms of antirhinoviral agents, and strategies for their discovery
Potential Immunomodulatory Properties of Biologically Active Components of Spices Against SARS-CoV-2 and Pan β-Coronaviruses
Anti-Viral Evaluation of Sesquiterpene Coumarins from Ferula assa-foetida against HSV-1

ANTIOXIDANT
In Vitro Antioxidant and Bactericidal Efficacy of 15 Common Spices: Novel Therapeutics for Urinary Tract Infections?
Antiepileptic and Antioxidant Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Ferula Assa Foetida Gum on Pentylentetrazole- induced Kindling in Male Mice
The effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Ferula foetida stems on blood pressure and oxidative stress in dexamethasone-induced hypertensive rats

ANTINOCICEPTIVE
Ferula asafoetida: Traditional uses and pharmacological activity
Antinociceptive effect of Ferula assa-foetida oleo-gum-resin in mice

ANTHELMINTIC
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review
Evaluation of anti-helmintic activity of Ferula foetida “Hing- A natural Indian spice” aqueous extract

LEISHMANIASIS
Antileishmanial activity of Ferula assa-foetida oleo gum resin against Leishmania major: An in vitro study
In vitro Antileishmanial Activity of Some Ethiopian Medicinal Plants

PROMOTES DIGESTION
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review

DYSPEPSIA
Safety and Efficacy of Ferula asafoetida in Functional Dyspepsia: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study

HEPATOPROTECTIVE
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review

HYPOTENSIVE / ANTI-HYPOTENSIVE
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review
Antihypertensive Effects of Standardized Asafoetida: Effect on Hypertension Induced by Angiotensin II
The effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Ferula foetida stems on blood pressure and oxidative stress in dexamethasone-induced hypertensive rats

NEUROPROTECTIVE
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review
Ferulic acid attenuates microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in retinal degeneration
Preventive Effect of Ferula asafoetida Oleo Gum Resin on Histopathology in Cuprizone-Induced Demyelination Mice
Neuroprotective potency of some spice herbs, a literature review

MEMORY PROMOTING
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review
ANXIOLYTIC
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review

RELAXANT
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review

ANTISPASMODIC / ANTICONVULSANT
The Relaxant Effect of Seed’s Essential Oil and Oleo-Gum-Resin of Ferula Assa-Foetida on Isolated Rat’s Ileum
Anticonvulsant Effect of Ferula Assa-Foetida Oleo Gum Resin on Chemical and Amygdala-Kindled Rats

EPILEPSY
Antiepileptic and Antioxidant Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Ferula Assa Foetida Gum on Pentylentetrazole- induced Kindling in Male Mice
Efficacy of Iranian Traditional Medicine in the Treatment of Epilepsy

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Preventive Effect of Ferula asafoetida Oleo Gum Resin on Histopathology in Cuprizone-Induced Demyelination Mice

OPIOID ADDICTION
Traditional Chinese and Indian medicine in the treatment of opioid-dependence: a review
Effect of the methanolic extracts of different parts of Ferula assa-foetida on naloxone-induced withdrawal behavior in morphine-dependent mice

MYOCARDIAL ISCHEMIA
The effect of asafoetida essential oil on myocardial ischemic-reperfusion injury in isolated rat hearts

VASORELAXANT
Role of the potassium channels in vasorelaxant effect of asafoetida essential oil

DIURETIC
Effect of Ferula assa-foetida oleo-gum-resin on renal function in normal Wistar rats

INCREASES SPERM
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review
Effect of Ferula assa-foetida oleo gum resin on spermatic parameters and testicular histopathology in male wistar rats

IMPOTENCE / ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION
A panoramic view of medicinal plants traditionally applied for impotence and erectile dysfunction in Persian medicine

DIABETES
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review
Middle East Medicinal Plants in the Treatment of Diabetes: A Review

OBESITY
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review

INCREASES PROGESTERONE
Ferula asafoetida: Traditional uses and pharmacological activity

ANTI-IMPLANTATION
Ferula asafoetida: Traditional uses and pharmacological activity

CANCER
Biological activities and medicinal properties of Asafoetida: A review
Ferula asafoetida: Traditional uses and pharmacological activity
Gummosin, a sesquiterpene coumarin from Ferula assa-foetida is preferentially cytotoxic to human breast and prostate cancer cell lines
Cytotoxic Properties of Some Medicinal Plant Extracts from Mazandaran, Iran
Cytotoxic activity of the genus Ferula (Apiaceae) and its bioactive constituents
Antitumor effect of Ferula assa foetida oleo gum resin against breast cancer induced by 4T1 cells in BALB/c mice
Evaluation of Cytotoxicity Effects of Oleo-Gum-Resin and Its Essential Oil of Ferula assa-foetida and Ferulic Acid on 4T1 Breast Cancer Cells