Asafetida 229
American wild west, asafetida was mixed with other strong spices to treat alcoholism.
Saleem et al. (2001) found that asafetida inhibits early events of carcinogenesis.
They reported that asafetida demonstrated antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties
in mice. Studies on several spices by Unnikrishnan and Kuttan (1990) have shown
that oral extract of asafetida can increase the lifespan of mice by 52.9%. However,
the effectiveness of asafetida in medicinal preparations is disputed in modern medicine.
The precise mode of action of asafetida in the human body is yet to be clearly
understood and little research has been done in this area.
Asafetida is still very much a wild crop. The asafetida-producing countries have
not studied the economics of production or the income it generates for the owners of
the plants. Since trade is not organized or controlled, traders enjoy the major share of
the profit. People are not generally aware of the price at which traders supply it to
other countries. There is scope to increase the productivity of asafetida by selecting
and growing high-yielding varieties and improving agronomic practices. Yield depends
greatly on the size the taproot attains after three to four years of growth. No serious
pests or diseases have been reported in the asafetida crop. Harvest and post-harvest
technology need to be improved to increase the amount of sap collected and to ensure
that better quality asafetida is produced.
12.8 References.......................................................................................
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ANON. (1991). Hand Book on Spices. National Institute of Industrial Research, Asia Pacific Business
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ANON. (2003). Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954, 24th edition. Eastern Book Company,
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CHATTERJEE, A. and PAKRASHI, S.C. (1995). Treatise on Medicinal Plants, Vol. 4. ICMR, Niscom, New
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DUKE, J.A. (2003). CRC Handbook of Medicinal Plants, CRC Press, Boca Raton, USA. pp 167–170.
GEORGE, C.K. (1995). ‘A Glimpse of Asafetida’, Spice India 8 (8): 2–5.
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PETER, K.V. (2004). Handbook of Herbs and Spices, Vol. 2. CRC Press, New York/Woodhead Publishing
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PRUTHI, J.S. (1976). Spices and Condiments, National Book Trust of India, New Delhi.
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RAGHAVAN, B., ABRAHAM, K.O., SHANKARANARAYANA, M.L., SASTRY, L.V.L. and NATARAJAN, C.P. (1974).
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SALEEM, M., ALAM, A. and SULTANA, S. (2001). ‘Asafeotida Inhibits Early Events of Carcinogenesis:
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TIWARI, R.S. and ANKUR, A. (2004). Production Technology of Spices. International Book Distributing
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UNNIKRISHNAN, M.C. and KUTTAN, R. (1990). ‘Tumor Reducing and Anti-carcinogenic Activity of
Selected Spices’, Cancer Lett., 51 (1): 65–89.