NON-POISONOUS DRUGS 



173 



however, that in spite of its odor asafetida is highly valued 

 as a condiment and extensively used for that purpose in 

 Persia and other oriental countries. Nor is its use as a food- 

 adjunct confined to eastern peoples. Many of us have often 

 rehshed it in gravies and sauces, little suspecting that the 



Fig. 16.5,11. — Castor-oil Plant. .1, staminate flower, just opening. B, same, 

 fully open. C, branching .stamens. D, pistillate flower, entire. E, 

 same, cut verticallj-. F, fruit. G, seed, entire, and cut vertically. 

 H, Embryo. (Baillon.) 



flavor we were enjoying was due to a substance which is 

 ordinarily most repulsive. The volatile oil upon which the 

 odor and flavor of asafetida depend is chemically very sim- 

 ilar to the oil of mustard, which as we know is pleasant to 

 eat only in minute quantity. Indeed it is almost always 

 true of food-adjuncts that "a little more than a little is by 



