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Herb library · Spice · Ferula assa-foetida

Asafoetida (hing)

The strong-smelling dried resin of a giant fennel from Iran and Afghanistan, fried in a pinch of oil at the start of countless Indian dishes. One company-funded trial found it eased indigestion; given to babies as a folk remedy, it has caused dangerous poisoning.

Serious warning

Never give asafoetida to a baby. Infants given it as a folk remedy have developed methemoglobinemia, a condition in which the blood cannot carry oxygen properly; one baby needed intensive care for life-threatening breathing trouble (PubMed 6609339, 31929780).

Traditional use

Dutt's 1877 compilation of the Sanskrit medical writers records that asafoetida, a resin brought from Persia and Khorasan, was regarded as stimulant and carminative and much used for dyspepsia, flatulence, colic and nervous diseases, and that it was fried before being taken because raw asafoetida was said to cause vomiting. The Hingvashtaka churna, asafoetida ground with ginger, the peppers, ajwain, cumin, nigella and rock salt and eaten with the first mouthful of rice, is still sold as a digestive. In Indian cooking hing is a daily spice, above all in lentil dishes.

What studies show

  • Limited

    Indigestion (functional dyspepsia): in a 2025 randomized, double-blind trial in 62 adults, 250 mg a day of an asafoetida resin formulation for 14 days eased bloating, early fullness and heartburn more than placebo. It is one short trial, run with the company that makes the product.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • AmountA pinch in cooking is a food amount. Medicinal doses and supplements are much larger.
  • AllergyGround asafoetida sold for cooking is often a blend with other ingredients. If you avoid wheat or gluten, read the label.
  • PregnancyNo safety information for medicinal amounts in pregnancy or breastfeeding was found; stick to cooking amounts then.
  • Ask a clinicianIf a baby turns bluish or struggles to breathe after being given any herbal remedy, get emergency care. Talk with a clinician or pharmacist before using asafoetida supplements if you take prescription medicines or are pregnant or breastfeeding.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“Assafœtida is regarded as a stimulant and carminative and is much used in dyspepsia, flatulence, colic, and diseases of the nervous system. It is fried before being used internally.”
Udoy Chand Dutt, The Materia Medica of the Hindus (1877), p. 175. See the page of The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 175 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 175

Sources

  1. Ferula asafoetida oleo-gum resin alleviates dyspepsia symptoms through modulation of microbiome-gut-brain axis: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (Medicine, 2025) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Methemoglobinemia in an infant treated with the folk remedy glycerited asafoetida (Pediatrics, 1984) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Severe Methemoglobinemia Secondary to Ferula asafoetida Ingestion in an Infant: A Case Report (Saudi J Med Med Sci, 2020) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.