a bad-smelling gum resin obtained from various Asiatic plants (genus Ferula) of the umbel family: it was formerly used to treat some illnesses or, in folk medicine, to repel disease
See asafetida in American Heritage Dictionary 4
also as·a·foet·i·da(ăsˌə-fĕtˈĭ-də)
noun
A brownish, bitter, foul-smelling resinous material obtained from the roots of several plants of the genus Ferula in the parsley family and formerly used in medicine.