IckyTicky
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 21466
posted
Very interesting. I have found where you can buy powdered Ferula assa-foetida, but I can't find anywhere that I can buy the plant itself.
-------------------- IGM: 18+, 23+, 30+, 31+++, 34+, 39IND, 41++, 58+++, 66+, 83-93IND IGG: 31+, 39IND, 41+ Also positive for Mycoplasma Pneumoniae and RMSF. Whole family of 5 dx with Lyme. Posts: 1014 | From Texas | Registered: Jul 2009
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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Emla,
Thanks for that article. I'm trying to collect all I can about herbs and nutrients regarding avoiding H1N1 so am glad to see this. Keep 'em coming!
I took Asafoetida (pronounced "Assah - feh - tee- da" -- with the accent on the "tee") over ten years ago for about a year. I also took with a couple tsps of Turmeric, as well as Ashwaghanda (for adrenals) . . . Asafoetida can also be a wonderful ingredient for cooking, adding a very unique flavor (but, yes, it smells odd until it is cooked - then it's absolutely delightful).
I do recall feeling a bit better at that time.
Be advised, though, that the powder for purchase is not the same as an extract used in the study, although it will contain some of the the sesquiterpene coumarins (as do many, many other plants/herbs).
Actually, I'd put my money on Allicin, Andrographis and Elderberry. Allicin has been proven to be antimicrobial and is easier to grow and harvest with less negative ecological impact if everyone decided they want to get it.
Be aware that the pharmaceutical companies are looking to make a profit. What they did with Tamiflu is the buy up all the Chinese Star Anise trees so that it is nearly impossible for anyone else to get.
There are also many accounts of garlic (and also andrographis) in helping during the 1918 epidemic (See: http://www.altcancer.com/andcan.htm ) - I thought that is where I read that but can't find that passage right now. One can cross search at Google for "1918 Spanish Flu" Androdraphis, though.
Any good ND or L.Ac. (naturopathic doctor or acupuncturist) should know all about Asafoetida, however, it is not typically in the Chinese herbal world as much as in that from India.
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Wiki is always just a place to begin, never enough on its own, but here's a good start to learning more:
Search for "Asafoetida" and you will find Asafoetida Powder (Ferula assa-foetida) You would have to clarify with them but my guess is that it is not powdered extract or it would say so.
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[ 09-12-2009, 05:00 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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In a Google Search for "Sesquiterpene coumarins"
I found tons of interesting links - here is one on what appears to be a cousin to Asafoetida.
Sesquiterpene coumarins from Ferula szowitsiana and in vitro antileishmanial activity of 7-prenyloxycoumarins against promastigotes.
Full Abstract:
Two new sesquiterpene coumarins, named szowitsiacoumarin A (1) and szowitsiacoumarin B (2), and a phenylpropanoid derivative, 2-epihelmanticine (3), together with nine known compounds, auraptene (4), umbelliprenin (5), galbanic acid (6), methyl galbanate (7), farnesiferol B (8), farnesiferol C (9), persicasulfide A (10), beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol were isolated from the roots of Ferula szowitsiana.
The structures of these compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods including 1D-((1)H and (13)C) and 2D-NMR experiments (DQF-COSY, HSQC, HMBC, and ROESY) as well as HR-MALDI-MS analysis.
Since the configuration of 2-epihelmanticine was previously only partly determined, a relative configurational analysis of its four stereocenters was carried out on the basis of the recently reported J-based method.
The inhibiting activity of prenylated coumarins, auraptene (4) and umbelliprenin (5), in addition to galbanic acid (6), as major component, and of the Me(2)CO extract of Ferula szowitsiana (Apiaceae) roots has been evaluated against promastigotes of Leishmania major.
Umbelliprenin and auraptene showed significant activity with IC(50) values of 4.9microg/ml (13.3microM) and 5.1microg/ml (17.1microM) after 48h incubation, respectively.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Thanks, Bea.
Really, I had not intended to "be back" but thought I could resist the calls of my computer. Were it not for the AC noise (and my hiding out from that), I tell myself, I'd be organizing my life, taking a shower. Getting something done. Hah!
Bea, you posted a fabulous reply in another thread today that will help me tremendously. I'd been unable to tolerate 5-HTP and now understand why - and I've had long that book to which you referred but I've not read it all (attention span and all that).
Emla,
I went to that site and got mesmerized for a long time. Very interesting . . . and that led me to another and another and that the FDA is cracking down on any supplement that even mentions H1N1.
I see it as an attempt to keep us in the dark but I do acknowledge that some bad marketers can be at work. But some of the things on their list are good items.
It's a very touchy subject with them. I do bet they have the pharmaceutical companies in their pocket on this one.
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