Heeng to Fight Swine Flu?
Posted on Sep 11, 2009 by Reena Daruwalla | Comments 0
As medical experts and researchers the world over look for defenses against the H1N1 Swine Flu virus, natural remedies are constantly being examined for their efficacy and curative powers. If Tulsi is one of the herbs that is being seen as an effective anti swine flu measure, now the Chinese have claimed that another common Indian spice could be an effective antidote as well.
Asafoetida or hing/heeng, that is commonly available in Indian kitchens, among others, for the purpose of the ‘tadka’ or the ‘jhonk’ is being seen as a possible defense against Swine Flu because of its antiviral properties.
According to this Times of India report, Chinese researchers have stumbled upon the antiviral properties of asafoetida, whose roots contain a compound that killed the H1N1 swine flu virus in the lab. According to the researchers, a group of chemicals in the plant’s extracts appeared to have a stronger potency against H1N1 flu than a prescription antiviral medication already in use against the flu. The plant was used in China against the influenza virus during the great 1918 Spanish flu epidemic and so its antiviral properties are now being explored.
Due to its very pungent smell this spice is known by many names including devil’s dung, stinking gum, and even food of the gods!
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Posted in: H1N1 • Swine Flu Drugs
