3 66 



"-HK TROPTCAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[November i, 1884. 



the other fetid. In the loth century the Meddygon Maddfai, 

 or physicians of Maddfai, considered it as one of the 

 substances which every physician ough' to know and use. 

 It constitutes a favourite seasoning for food with the in- 

 habitants of many parts of the East. The Indian Banians, 

 who never eat animal food, use it in almost all their dishes 

 and before their meals ; even rub their mouths with it in 

 order to stimulate their appetite. It is sometimes used 

 by our own cooks, but in very minute quantity, in place 

 of garlic. In many parts of Arabia and Persia it is much 

 esteemed as a remedy for various internal diseases ami 

 as an external application to wounds. With us it is con- 

 sidered a powerful medicine in several disorders. It has 

 been applied with success in the cure of whooping cough 

 and worms, and in flatulent colics. The part of the plant 

 from which the drug is obtained is the root, in which, 

 after it is four years old, incisions are made. The upper 

 part of the root, which is sometimes as thick as a man's 

 leg rises somewhat above the surface of the ground. When 

 cut, the asafcutida exudes in the form of a white thick 

 juice like cream, which, from exposure to the air becomes 

 at last of a dark brown colour. It is very apt to run to 

 putrefaction, and hence those who collect it carefully defend 

 it from the sun. The fresh juice has an excessively strong 

 smell; a single drachm of it is said to smell more than 

 a hundred pounds of the dry asaftetida brought to us. The 

 harvest commences when the leaves begin to decay, and 

 the whole gathering is performed by the inhabitants of 

 tin place by four different journeys to the mountains. The 

 quantity yielded by a root varies from half an ounce to 

 two pounds. The product got from the first cutting, which 

 is thinner, more milky and less esteemed than that obtained 

 afterwards, is not sold in its natural state, but is mixed 

 with soft earth, which is added to the extent of an equal, 

 or even double, weight of the gum resin, according to the 

 softness of the latter. It is stated that a single ship is 

 exclusively devoted to transporting the bulk of the drug 

 to ports in the Persian Gulf, and that when smaller parcels 

 are carried it is usual to tie them to the top of the mast. 

 As found in the shops asaftetida is in irregular masses, 

 softish when not long exposed, of a yellowish or reddish- 

 brown colour, externally exhibiting when broken an irregular 

 whitish, somewhatshining surface, which soon becomes red on 

 exposure and ultimately passes into a dull yellowish brown. 

 This change of colour is characteristic of asaftetida, and 

 is ascribed to the influence of air and light upon its resinous 

 ingredient. The masses appear as if composed of distinct 

 portions agglutinated together, sometimes of white, almost 

 pearly tears embedded in a darker, softer and more fetid 

 paste. It is rarely met with in separate tears, which are 

 roundish flattened, oval or of irregular shape, from the 

 size of a pea to that of a large almond or larger, yellowish 

 or brownish externally and white within, and not unlike 

 ammoniac tears, for which they might be mistaken except 

 for their odour, which, however, is weaker than that of 

 the masses, to which latter they are considered inferior. 

 A very fine variety of asaftetida is said to be obtained 

 from the leaf-bud in the centre of the root. It is known 

 in tne Indian bazaars as kandahari hing, but it is not 

 found in European commerce. It occurs in moist flaky 

 pieces and tears, 3 ielding a reddish-yellow oil on pressure 

 and mostly mixed with the remains of leaf-buds. Asafcetida 

 has a powerful but not purely alliaceous odour and a bitter 

 acrid and durable taste. It becomes harder and more brittle 

 by keeping and also diminishes in smell an \ taste. It softens 

 by heat without melting, and is difficult to powder. Accord- 

 ing to Berzelius its specific gravity is P327. I have taken 

 the specific gravity of two specimens, one being 1'2 and 

 the other, which we shall see further on, contains a very 

 large amount of adulteration, beiug 17. It is inflammable, 

 burning with a clear lively flame. It yields all its virtues 

 to alcohol and forms a clear tincture which becomes milky 

 on the addition of water. It forms a whitish or pinkish- 

 white emulsion with water. "When rubbed up with sulphuric 

 acid in a mortar, then diluted and the solution neiu ' 

 by ammonia, the then slightly coloured solution exhibits 

 a bluish fluorescence, which is due to the presence of 

 umbelliferone. Touched with nitric acid, specific gravity 

 1*2, the tear becomes of an evanescent green colour. The 

 asafcetida of commerce has been shown to be always more 

 or less impure. The common impurities are stum s, sa ml. 

 powdered gypsum and wheat or bailey flour, mixed in varying 



proportions according to the consistence of the gum resin- 

 At Bombay it is further adulterated, frequently by opening 

 the packages and mixing it with gum arabic. 



Asaftetida consists of resin, gum and essential oil in varyiug 

 proportions. The proportion of oil varies from 3 to 9 per 

 cent the gum from 2ti to 32 per cent, and the resin from 

 47'2 to 65 per cent. The resin is almost entirely soluble in 

 alcohol, ether, and chloroform; it dissolves without decom- 

 position in warm concentrated nitric acid. It contains a 

 little ferulaic acid. Fused with caustic potash it yields 

 resorcin, and by distillation oils of a green, violet or red 

 tint, besides about f per cent of umbelliferone, OjH 9 3 . The 

 mucilaginous matter of asafcetida consists of a gum soluble 

 in water and an insoluble portion which is bassoriu. The 

 volatile oil has a light yallow colour, with a very repulsive 

 odour. It is at first neutral, but on exposure becomes acid 

 and acquires a different odour. It contains from 20 to 25 

 per cent of sulphur, and on being distilled evolves sulph- 

 uretted hydrogen. 



" Hing," the medicinal asaftetida of the natives of India, 

 obtained from I'enda alliacea, consists of 37'50 resin and 

 essential oil, 23 75 of gum. It may be distinguished from 

 commercial asaftetida by not yielding a fluorescent solution, 

 by its tincture not being precipitated by acetate of lead 

 and by containing slices of roots, stem remains only beiug 

 found in ordinary asaftetida, whilst the alcoholic tincture 

 of tlif latter is precipitated by acetate of lead. 



In the British Pharmacopoeia the test for asafcetitk is 

 that it dissolves almost entirely in rectified spirit. As there 

 is from 26 to 32 per cent of gum this cannot be true. 

 without taking into account impurities which are always 

 present. According to the United States Pharmacopoeia it 

 is partly soluble in ether, and at least 60 per cent of it 

 should dissolve in alcohol of specific gravity '820, containing 

 91 per cent by weight of G,H 5 HO. The German Pharm- 

 acopeia gives the following characters: — 



"It gives a yellow colour with caustic soda. Does not 

 stri ingly effervesce with hydrochloric acid, and is not coloured 

 by contact with the acid for six hours. It should not 

 leave more than 10 per cent of ash." I have worked a 

 little upon these tests with the following results: — 



No. 1. Tear asaftetida yielded 5 per cent of ash and 

 yielded 56 per cent to s. v. r. 



No. 2. Lump asaftetida yielded 56 per cent of ash and 

 yielded 26 per cent to s. v. r. 



No. 3. Lump asaftetida, specific gravity 1'77, yielded 

 56 per cent ash and yielded 26 per cent to s. v. r. 



No. -1. "Strained" asaftetida yielded 25 per cent ash 

 and yielded 50 per cent to s v. r. 



No. 5. Lump asafcetida, specific gravity 12. yielded 12 

 per cent ash and yielded 54 per cent to s. v. r. 



They all gave the NaHO reaction ami the fluorescence, 

 but they were all coloured of a greenish blue by HOI 

 almost immediately. Nos. 3 and 4 are very impure, heavy, 

 and have a sandy appearance. 



The samples were obtained from different wholesale aud 

 retail houses, and from the Society's Museum. 



Someyearsago Prof essor Maisch, of Philadelphia, published 

 the result of his analyses of several samples of asaftetida 

 taken by the drug inspector of the port from different 

 cases and from different parts of the mass. It was as 

 follows: — 



1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 



Total resin and volatile oil 36-48 4389 6293 3948 30'08 



Impurities 57-50 44-ol 15 20 5170 6209 



Gum moisture and loss ... 602 1210 2P87 8'82 7'83 



100 100 100 100 100 



These were samples of amygdaloid asafcetida which a 

 year previously were rejected by the purchaser as adulterated, 

 he claiming that good asafcetida should be entirely free 

 from sulphate of lime. The impurities in the above instance 

 consisted of gypsum and vegetable fragments, as always 

 met with in the resinous matter agglutinating the tears. 



Dr. Dymock, in bis- idateria Medica,' states that asafcetida 

 of an ordinary commercial quality in tears yields at least 

 7 per tent residue to petroleum ether, lump at least 5 

 per cent, ami that the volatile constituents should not be 

 less thau 5 per cent in tear or 3 per cent inlumpasafce ida. 



In the French Codex a "purified asaftetida" is included, 

 and which is directed to be prepared as follows: — 



Dissolve the gum resin with heat in a sufficient quantity 



