“Chinese ‘Devil Dung’ Plant Could Be a Swine Flu Fighter”

SB4.6.

TEXT 17

panasodumbarasvattha-

rajapugais ca jambubhih

SYNONYMS

panasa-udumbara-asvattha-plaksa-nyagrodha-hingubhih—with panasas (jackfruit trees), udumbaras, asvatthas, plaksas, nyagrodhas and trees producing asafoetida; bhurjaih—with bhurjas; osadhibhih—with betel nut trees; pugaih—with pugas; rajapugaih—with rajapugas; ca—and; jambubhih—with jambus.

TRANSLATION BY SRILA PRABHUPADA

Kailasa Hill is also decorated with such trees as kata, jackfruit, julara, banyan trees, plaksas, nyagrodhas and trees producing asafoetida. Also there are trees of betel nuts and bhurja-patra, as well as rajapuga, blackberries and similar other trees. FULL CHAPTER

HealthDay News: Chinese ‘Devil Dung’ Plant (Asafoetida) Could Be a Swine Flu Fighter
Extract used in 1918 pandemic may have antiviral properties, scientists say

HealthDay News — A plant with a particularly malodorous sap has components that show great efficacy in killing off the H1N1 swine flu virus, Chinese scientists report.

The plant, Ferula assa-foetida, grows throughout Iran, Afghanistan and mainland China, and is commonly dubbed “Dung of the Devil” due to its ill-smelling sap. But the researchers note that the plant was used in China against the influenza virus during the great 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, which is thought to have killed tens of millions worldwide. But until now no one has confirmed that Ferula assa-foetida has natural antiviral properties, according to a news release from the American Chemical Society.

The report appears in the Sept. 25 issue of the Journal of Natural Products.

In their laboratory experiments, researchers Fang-Rong Chang, Yang-Chang Wu and colleagues identified a group of chemicals in the plant’s extracts that appear to have a stronger potency against H1N1 flu than a prescription antiviral medication already in use against the flu. They write that these compounds “may serve as promising lead components for new drug development against influenza A (H1N1) viral infection.”