Asafoetida: Fabled Flu-Fighter – Corralling Cancer

To say that asafoetida is an acquired taste is putting it mildly—or pungently. In fact, its sulfur-powered smell (think garlic and onions on steroids) is so intense that just cracking open a jar of asafoetida powder leaves an acrid odor in the air for hours. (Fortunately, asafoetida mellows in cooking.)

But that same smell (foetida is Latin for stinky) also allowed asafoetida to play a storied role in the US during the influenza pandemic of 1918. The Spanish flu, or La Grippe, as it was called, ravaged the world for 20 months, killing close to 100 million people, with 10,000 Americans dying every week. During that time, thousands of people walked city streets in the US with a small bag of super-smelly asafoetida tied around their necks, trying to stave off the infection (and infected strangers). At the time, the US Pharmacopeia—an organization that sets standards for medications—sanctioned the spice as a flu remedy.

Fast forward to 2009 and laboratories in Egypt and Taiwan . . .

Facing Down the Flu

The Spanish flu infected the globe nearly a century ago, but descriptions of its devastation once again dominated the media in the spring of 2009, when a new flu pandemic—the swine flu—broke out in Mexico and speedily spread around the world.

As this post is written, the rate of infection and death from swine flu have been miniscule compared to the Spanish flu. But the two share some characteristics: both threaten young adults more than older people; and both are a type A influenza (denoting degree of severity, with “A” being the worst), with an H1N1 subtype (denoting the type of virus).

Asafoetida to the rescue?

Researchers in Egypt and Taiwan quickly tested the smelly spice to find out if it was a match for swine flu. And it was—at least in the laboratory, where asafoetida killed the swine flu virus more effectively than did amantadine (Symadine), one of the antiviral drugs prescribed for treating swine flu. Compounds in asafoetida “may serve as promising lead components for new drug development” against the swine flu, said the Taiwanese researchers in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Natural Products.

Corralling Cancer

Asafoetida announces itself to your nose through an abundance of sulfur compounds. However, scientists—pursuing the lead of asafoetida’s traditional use as a medicine in many parts of the world—have isolated hundreds of active compounds in asafoetida, and are figuring out which ones have preventive and curative power. But whatever the active ingredients of asafoetida, they’re definitely active against cancer.

DURING THE 1918 FLU PANDEMIC, ASAFOETIDA WAS USED TO WARD OFF INFECTION.

One of the team of researchers who pitted asafoetida against swine flu also conducted a study on the spice’s ability to battle cancer. Mixing the spice with lung, breast, liver, and oral cancer cells cut cancer activity by 50 percent. Polyphenols—powerful antioxidants in asafoetida similar to those in green tea, red wine, and dark chocolate—may be the factors that corral cancer, said the researchers.

One Doctor’s Anti-Smoking Campaign

The acrid smell of the asafoetida necklace he wore for the duration of the Spanish flu epidemic was still in the memory of a Philadelphia ear, nose, and throat specialist when, in 1975, he came up with a novel way to help people stop smoking: by tainting cigarettes with the taste of asafoetida.

He based his hypothesis on Pavlov’s method of conditioned reflex: if cigarettes tasted like asafoetida instead of tobacco, people would start to hate the taste of cigarettes. And they did!

For his experiment, he recruited 21 smokers between the ages of 23 and 60 who had been smoking about a pack a day for an average of 36 years. The instructions were simple: just before lighting up, they were to put an asafoetida lozenge under the tongue and keep it there while they smoked. Each person got 100 lozenges to get them through five packs of cigarettes. Within a week, 82 percent of the smokers had quit. Just putting a cigarette to the lips “gives a feeling of nausea and [the patient] doesn’t even light the cigarette,” explained Albert P. Seltzer, MD, in theJournal of the National Medical Association.

Four years later all the ex-smokers were still cigarette-free.

Asafoetida is produced from the resin of a plant native to the Middle East.

Researchers in India also tested the spice against cancer, and found that it slowed the formation of skin cancer in laboratory animals. It also boosted blood levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants.

And in a study on breast cancer, scientists in India found that feeding laboratory animals with asafoetida “resulted in a significant reduction” in the number and size of breast cancers induced by treatment with a toxic chemical. “These findings indicate the [cancer-preventing] potential of asafoetida,” they concluded in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

Aiding Digestion

Asafoetida is a staple of Indian cuisine—and one reason why lentils, beans, and other gas-producing foods in India’s diet are tolerated so well. In a study in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, scientists in the Middle East reported the spice relaxes the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract. Two other studies found that regular ingestion of the spice can help relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, including intestinal cramping, bloating, and gas.

Asafoetida may help prevent and/or treat:

Cancer

Flatulence

Flu

Irritable bowel

syndrome

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Asafoetida pairs well with these spices:

Ajowan

Black pepper

Cardamom

Coriander

Fennel seed

Ginger

Mustard seed

Tamarind

Turmeric

and complements recipes featuring:

Beans

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Chutney

Curries

Lentils

Nuts

Pickles

Red meat

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Other recipes containing asafoetida:

Brussels Sprouts Kulambu

Chaat Masala

Onion and Tomato Chutney

Sambaar Masala

Getting to Know Asafoetida

The world is a little schizophrenic about asafoetida, a spice produced from the resin (sap) of a plant native to Iran and Afghanistan—its common names include both devil’s dung and food of the gods! That’s because asafoetida is stinky when raw but smoothly flavorful when cooked, with a scent similar to cooked onions or garlic.

And that scent is a daily presence in kitchens throughout India, Nepal, and parts of the Middle East. A piece of asafoetida resin the size of a marble is almost always found under the lids of cooking pots filled with lentils, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, or other foods with a reputation for producing flatulence. Asafoetida is also a frequent flavoring in Indian curries, Indian ground meatballs called koftas, and fried bread called papadum. It’s also a key ingredient in the Indian spice mix chaat masala, which is used in side dishes and snack foods.

Spiced Vegetable Fritters

Called bhajis, these vegetable fritters are served warm as a snack with a chutney dipping sauce in India. This recipe comes from Alamelu Vairavan, an exceptional cook and author of Healthy South Indian Cooking (Hippocrene Books). I recommend serving these fritters with Onion and Tomato Chutney, another recipe from Alamelu that also features asafoetida. Besan (chickpea flour) is available in Indian markets. If you cannot find it, you can use instant pakora mix in place of the flour, salt, and baking soda. The mix is available in Indian markets and some supermarkets that carry ethnic ingredients.

1 cup besan (chickpea flour)

¼ cup rice flour

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon cayenne

½ teaspoon asafoetida powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric

30 thin slices eggplant, potato, or white onion Canola oil for frying

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together by hand in a medium bowl.

2. Add approximately 1 cup of water to the dry ingredients, stirring until it makes a smooth, thick batter. Set aside for 30 minutes.

3. Heat enough oil in a deep skillet or wok for deep-frying. One by one, coat each vegetable with the batter and add to the frying oil. Fry a few slices at a time until golden brown on both sides, about two to three minutes. Drain the vegetables on paper towels. Repeat until all are fried.

Makes 6 servings.

Iranians rub asafoetida on warmed plates used to serve meat. In Afghanistan, cooks sprinkle asafoetida and salt on meat as a tenderizer.

Though it is virtually unheard of in Western culinary arts, chances are you might have some in your kitchen cupboard: rumor has it that it’s a secret, unlisted spice in the popular American staple, Worcestershire sauce.

How to Buy Asafoetida

Asafoetida is sold in several forms, including solid resin, paste, and powder. I strongly suggest buying the powdered form. For the uninitiated, the solid can be difficult to handle, as can the paste. (Even the powder requires judicious handling, as I’ll discuss in a moment.)

The powder comes in two colors: light brown and yellow. The yellow is slightly milder because it’s colored with turmeric, a golden-yellow spice. Yellow asafoetida blends more easily with other ingredients.

The resin ranges in shades from dark red to brown. Stay away from those that are almost black in appearance, which is a sign of age.

There are two varieties of asafoetida: hing and hingra. Hing is considered the superior of the two, because of its richer odor.

As you’ll quickly discover, the biggest challenge isn’t purchasing asafoetida but storing it. If the spice isn’t stored properly, the acrid odor of raw asafoetida powder can overpower your spice cupboard and contaminate other ingredients. One way to keep the odor contained is to double wrap the spice. Keep the container tightly closed and place it in another airtight container or plastic ziplock bag. Or keep it in the garage!

In the Kitchen with Asafoetida

As I’ve pointed out, for all the ridicule asafoetida receives because of its overpowering stench outside the pot, it mellows in the pot, imparting a mild, sweet taste to food. Be forewarned, however, that it takes only a very little to get this effect. A pinch is all you need, even if you’re making a large pot of curry or stew for company.

The best way to use the powder is to fry it in oil at the beginning of cooking. That will dispel the odor before you add other ingredients.