What is asafetida and what is it used for?
Hi there, Asafoetida is used as a flavoring, food preservative, and fragrance. It is used as a folk remedy for a wide variety of ills and as an aphrodisiac, diuretic, sedative, and stimulant. Plain and simple, this is what it is. (I got this info. from my botany/chemistry reference). The common name asafoetida is derived from the Farsi word aza (resin) and the Latin foetidus (smelling, fetid). Many unusual medical claims have been made for the resin, most stemming from the belief that its fetid odor acts as a deterrent to germs. The shock of the sulfurous smell was once thought to calm hysteria and, in the days of the Wild West, asafoetida was included in a mixture with other strong spices as a cure for alcoholism. It has been used for abdominal tumors and as a carminative, intestinal spasmodic, aphrodisiac, diuretic, sedative, and stimulant. Use as an antidote for flatulence and for respiratory conditions like asthma, bronchitis, and whooping cough has also been documented. Today, asa
