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“Asafoetida”(Hing)
Ferula assa-foetida

Asafoetida is the oleo-gum resin obtained by incising the living rhizomes and roots of Ferula assa-foetida L., F. rubricaulis Boiss., F. foetida Regel and other species of Ferula.

Common Name(s) in English & Indian Languages
Sanskrit: Ramaha, Sahasravedhi
Assamese: Hin
Bengali: Hing
English: Asfoetida
Guajarati: Hing, Vagharni
Hindi: Hing, Hingda
Kannada: Hing, Ingu
Kashmiri: Eng
Malayalam: Kayam
Marathi: Hing, Hira, Hing
Oriya: Hengu, Hingu
Punjabi: Hing
Tamil: Perungayam
Telugu: Inguva
Urdu: Hitleet, Hing

Botanical description:
It is a perennial plant which attains a height of upto 12 feet in wild with a circular mass of 30-40 cm leaves. The stem leaves have wide sheathing petioles. Flowering stems are 2.5-3 m high and 10 m thick and hollow. These flowering stems have number of schizogenous ducts in the cortex containing resinous gums. The flowers are small and dirty yellow colored produced in large compound umbels. Fruits of this plant are oval, thin, flat, reddish brown in color and contain milky substance. Roots are thick, massive and pulpy. The foul odor comes from the resin like gum extracted from the stems and roots.

Parts used:
Oleo gum resin obtained by incising the living rhizomes and roots.

Major chemical constituents:
Sesquiterpenecoumarins which are foetidine, saradaferin, 10-R-acetoxy-11-hydroxyumbelliprenin, 10-R-karatavicinol, methyl galbanate, lehmferin, feselol, ligupersin A, microlobin and polyanthinin. Apart from the aforesaid sesquiterpenes and the volatile polysulphides the various other phytoconstituents are the diterpenes like the 7-oxocallitrisic acid, picealactone C, 15-hydroxy-6-en-dehydroabietic acid, various phenolic compounds like vanillin, 3,4-dimethoxycinnamyl-3-(3,4-diacetoxyphenyl) acrylate, acetylenes such as falccarinolone and various other miscellaneous compounds such as oleic acid and β-sitosterol

Therapeutic uses:
• Gastric ulcer/Duodenal ulcer/Colic (Sularoga)
• Flatulance with gurgling sound (Adhmana)
• Abdominal lump (Gulma)
• Heart disease (Hridroga)
• Worm infestation (Krimiroga)
• Ascites (Udararoga)
• Digestive impairment (Agnimandya)
• Distension of abdomen due to obstruction to passage of urine and
stools (Anaha)