ABSTRACT
Spices have been used for thousands of years in food preparation, giving pleasant flavours and colours. Spices help to preserve food and have been also used as medicines for their potential beneficial effects. Asafoetida, an oleo-gum-resin obtained from the stems of Ferula, is used as a flavouring agent in food and as a traditional medicine for several diseases in many parts of the world. The phytochemicals present in the genus Ferula, such as coumarins, terpenes, sulphur-containing compounds, phytoestrogens, flavonoids, etc., confer on the Ferula plants beneficial properties. Recent studies have shown several potential benefits including neuroprotective, antioxidant, hypotensive, hepatoprotective, antimicrobial, anticarcinogenic, anticancer, anticytotoxicity, and antiobesity properties. This chapter aims at giving an updated summary of the main features and potential benefits of asafoetida. In addition to the botanical and geographical aspects, we have explored the possible beneficial effects on human health due to the presence of bioactive compounds, indicating their traditional uses in food and medicine preparation as well as in proposing possible future applications.
