Question

Asafoetida is obtained from which part of Ferula Asafoetida?
(a) Stem
(b) Root
(c) Leaf
(d) Flower

Answer 1

Hint: This is a spice used as a digestive aid, in food as a taste enhancer, and pickles also as preservatives. From the plant Ferula Asafoetida, asafoetida is obtained from that part of the plant from where the plant absorbs water and minerals during the process of photosynthesis.

Complete answer:
Ferula asafoetida is a herbaceous plant of the Umbelliferae family. It is oleo gum resin obtained from the rhizome and root of the plant.
Asafoetida is extracted from the massive taproots or carrot-shaped roots, 12.5-15 cm in diameter at the crown once they are 4-5 years old. Just before the plant’s flower, in March-April, the upper part of the living rhizome root is laid bare and the stem cut off close to the crown. A dome-shaped structure made of twigs and earth covers the exposed surface. A milky juice exudes from the cut surface. After some days, the exudates are scraped off and a fresh slice of the root cut when more latex exudes; sometimes the resin is removed along with the slice. The collection of resin and slicing of the root is repeated about 3 months after the first cut. The resin is sometimes collected from successive incisions made at the junction of the stem or rhizome and the taproots.

This spice is employed as a digestive aid, in food as a condiment, and pickles. It is used in modern herbalism in the treatment of hysteria, some nervous conditions, bronchitis, asthma, and whooping cough. It was at one time employed in the treatment of infantile pneumonia and flatulent colic. The odor of asafoetida is imparted to the breath, secretions, flatus, and gastric eructations.
It also thins the blood and lowers blood pressure. It is widely utilized in India in food and as a drug in Indian systems of drugs like Ayurveda.
So, the correct answer is ‘Root’.

Note:
- Asafoetida is native to central Asia, eastern Iran to Afghanistan, and today it is grown chiefly in Iran and Afghanistan, from where it is exported to the rest of the world. It is not native to India but has been used in Indian medicine and cookery for ages.
- Plants are a continuing source of medicine and recently, much emphasis has been placed on finding novel therapeutic agents from medicinal plants.
- Today many of us like to use medicinal plants instead of chemical drugs.