IngredientsSumbul consists of the root of Ferula moschata, known formerly by the synonym Ferula sumbul, a tall umbelliferous plant of the "giant fennel" genus Ferula, found primarily in the north of Bokhara in present-day Uzbekistan, although its range apparently extends into Southeastern Siberia, beyond the Amur river. Additional botanical synonyms include Euryangium sumbul Kauffm., Ferula moschata (Reinsch) Koso-Pol., and Sumbulus moschatus Reinsch.
In 1869, Kauffmann, from plants collected in Russian Turkestan and grown in the Moscow Botanic Garden, established it in a new genus, Euryangium, closely related to Ferula, and differing chiefly in the broader vittae. The plant has since been ascribed to Ferula by Petournikoff and by Hooker filius, after an examination of the ripe fruit sent from Russia.
Common names include Sumbul, Musk-Root, and Jatamansi. The word sumbul, which is Arabic and signifies an ear or spike, is used as the designation of various substances, but especially of Indian Nard, the rhizome of Nardostachys jatamansi DC. In German it is known as Persischer Sumbul.
The plant belongs to Kingdom Plantae, Order Apiales, Family Apiaceae, Genus Ferula, Species F. sumbul. It can reach 60–120 cm tall, producing a cluster of yellow-green umbels on hollow, grooved stems. Some sources describe the plant as reaching a height of eight feet, having a solid, cylindrical, slender stem, which in the upper part gives origin to about twelve slender divaricate branches. The leaves are mostly radical, large, and ternately decompound, with the ultimate segments narrow and toothed; the upper stem leaves are reduced merely to the sheathing bases of the petioles; the flowers are small, yellow, and disposed in compound umbels.
Ferula sumbul thrives in cool, semi-arid climates at 1,500–2,500 m in Central Asian mountain ranges, particularly Uzbekistan's Tien Shan foothills. Ferula sumbul was first discovered by the Russian Fedschenko in 1869, growing at an elevation of 3,000 feet in the mountains which separate Russian Turkestan from Bucharia.
The root as found in commerce consists of transverse sections an inch or more in thickness and from 1 to 3 or more inches in diameter. It has a dark thin papery bark, a spongy texture, and the cut surface is marbled with white and blackish or pale brown; it has a musky odor and a bitter aromatic taste. The associated resin, known as "sumbul resin," exudes from stems and roots through natural fissures caused by temperature variation or by damage from animals or insects.
Bombay or Indian Sumbul was an adulterant supplied by the roots of Dorema ammoniacum (the root of the plant supplying Gum Ammoniac). Under the name of East Indian sumbul, the root of Ferula ammoniacum has occasionally been offered in English commerce. It is of a browner hue, has the taste of ammoniacum, and gives a much darker tincture than the genuine drug, and is thus easily detected.
Under the name of sumbul or jatamansi, a root has long been used in India, Persia, and other parts of the East as a perfume, an incense in religious ceremonies, and medicinally. Ferula sumbul, commonly called Sumbul (Hindi) or Musk Root (English), has been traditionally used for relieving anxiety, as a sedative in hysteria and other nervous disorders.
The drug was first introduced into Russia about the year 1835 as a substitute for musk, that it was then recommended as a remedy for cholera, and that it began to be known in Germany in 1840, and ten years afterwards in England. It was admitted into the British Pharmacopoeia in 1867. In 1850, physicians attending the medical wards of King's College Hospital observed that Dr. Todd was prescribing sumbul in a case of epilepsy. The root was being introduced into practice as an antispasmodic by Mr. Savory of Bond Street. Dr. Granville, on a recent return from the continent, mentioned sumbul to Mr. Savory as a root employed with great success in Germany and Russia against cholera.
According to King's American Dispensatory, sumbul is a stimulant and tonic to the nervous system; it was recommended in low typhus fevers (to allay intestinal irritation), in gastric spasm, hysteria, delirium tremens, diarrhoea, dysentery, leucorrhoea, gleet, chlorosis, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and other maladies accompanied with an asthenic condition. It was introduced (1835) as a remedy for cholera, but proved useless in that scourge.
According to the Eclectic Materia Medica (Felter, 1922), sumbul is a stimulating tonic to the nervous system, and for that purpose is employed chiefly with associated nervines in asthenia and nervous depression. It is particularly adapted to neurasthenia and nervous exhaustion of anemic or chlorotic women to allay nervous unrest and impart tone. Many physicians employed it as a nerve tonic and reconstructive in convalescence from prolonged illness.
Ellingwood (1919) described sumbul as a pure, stimulating nerve tonic that seemed to invigorate the nutritive functions of the system. It had been recommended during the progress of low fevers, where the nervous system was greatly debilitated, as in typhus, typhoid and typho-pneumonia. Wherever the nervous system had received the effect of a protracted prostrating disease, it could be given with advantage. Murawieff advised it in both acute and chronic pulmonary disease, through its influence upon the nervous system, probably influencing the circulatory and respiratory functions, supporting them under the strain of protracted inflammation. The remedy was also used in stomach disease, diarrhoea, dysentery, and cholera.
Sumbul was proved by Lembke, Cattell, and others, and the symptoms were described as like those of Moschus. Hysterical mood, easy fainting, and nervous palpitation are common to both. In homeopathic practice, the tincture of the powdered root was used for a range of conditions including acne, asthma, breast pains, chorea, diarrhoea, epilepsy, fainting, nervous heart palpitation and affections, pneumonia, and hysteria.
Sumbul's name "Musk-root" derives from an odour resembling that of musk; the resemblance is so close that sumbul has been used to adulterate musk. It was first introduced into Russia about the year 1835 as a substitute for musk. Accordingly, sumbul has occupied a niche in natural perfumery and incense production in addition to its medicinal history.
Sumbul owes its medicinal properties to a resin and an essential oil. Of the former it contains about 9%, and of the latter 3%. The resin is soluble in ether and has a musky smell, which is not fully developed until after contact with water. Older pharmacognostic sources quote somewhat different figures: volatile oil at 0.2–0.4% and resin at 5–15%, along with coumarins including umbelliferone, sumbulic acid, and angelic acid.
Principal constituents of sumbul include a musk-odored volatile oil, aromatic resin, balsam, and angelic, valeric, and sumbulic acids. The root contains an aromatic resin, a volatile oil, and angelic acid.
The methanol extract of the dried roots of Ferula sumbul afforded two furanocoumarin esters — fesumtuorin A and B — one bicoumarin, fesumtuorin C, five spirobicoumarins, fesumtuorin D, E, F, G, and H, along with nineteen known coumarins. These compounds — collectively termed fesumtuorins — represent novel chemical entities unique to this species.
The main phytochemicals present in the genus Ferula include coumarins, coumarin esters, sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpene lactones, monoterpenes, monoterpene coumarins, prenylated coumarins, sulfur-containing compounds, phytoestrogens, flavonoids, and carbohydrates. Generally, aromatic acid lactones, sesquiterpenes, coumarins, and sesquiterpene coumarins are present in the roots of Ferula species, whereas monoterpenes, oxygenated monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenes, and oxygenated sesquiterpenoids are the main chemical constituents of essential oil present in the aerial parts.
GC-MS analysis of the essential oil of F. sumbul roots (EOFS) revealed the presence of 32 components comprising triterpenoids and their derivatives.
Phytochemical screening of various extracts of the roots showed the presence of triterpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins, phenols, alkaloids, proteins, and carbohydrates. In in vitro-grown F. sumbul plants, HPLC analysis showed a higher content of p-coumaric acid in methanol extraction (9.58 µg/mL) and a higher content of kaempferol in hexane extraction (9.59 µg/mL).
Batra, Kumar, and Sharma published a study documenting the isolation, characterization, and antianxiety activity of pentacosan-13-ol from Ferula sumbul Hook. roots, published in the Journal of Biologically Active Products from Nature, 2018, 8, 171–179. This long-chain alcohol is among the more recently identified bioactive constituents specific to the species.
As the main active ingredients in Ferula, sesquiterpenes and their derivatives, especially sesquiterpene coumarins, sesquiterpene phenylpropanoids, and sesquiterpene chromones, have attracted the attention of scientists due to the diversity of their chemical structures and their extensive and promising biological properties, such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties.
The essential oil of F. sumbul roots has been traditionally used as a sedative in nervous disorders. A study identified the components of essential oil of F. sumbul roots (EOFS) by GC-MS analysis and evaluated mechanism-based anxiolytic potential. EOFS was extracted using a Clevenger apparatus and screened for anxiolytic activity using an elevated plus maze model, with a battery of models subsequently used to confirm the activity. The benzodiazepine (BZD) receptor antagonist flumazenil and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) were used to investigate the possible involvement of GABA receptors.
GC-MS analysis of EOFS revealed the presence of 32 components comprising triterpenoids and their derivatives. The oil exhibited significant anxiolytic activity at 50 μl/kg in various models like the elevated plus maze, light/dark, mirror chamber, open-field, and mCPP-induced anxiety. These findings collectively suggest involvement of GABA-A/benzodiazepine receptor complexes and 5-HT serotonergic pathways.
The action and uses of sumbul drug are described as the same as those of asafetida. Within the Ferula genus more broadly, numerous biological activities are shown by the chemical components of the essential oils obtained from different Ferula species, including antimicrobial, insecticidal, antioxidant, and cytotoxic properties.
The methanol extract of the dried roots of Ferula sumbul afforded two furanocoumarin esters, one bicoumarin, five spirobicoumarins, along with nineteen known coumarins; their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic studies. Some of the isolated compounds showed anti-HIV activity and very weak inhibition of cytokine release. This in vitro work (Zhou et al., Phytochemistry, 2000) remains the primary source-documented pharmacological study isolating novel coumarins specifically from F. sumbul roots.
Plants of the genus Ferula have long been used to treat neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, pain, depression, and seizures. The main compounds include coumarins, monoterpenes, sulfide compounds, and polyphenol compounds, which can improve the functioning of the nervous system. A review article found that genus Ferula has a protective effect on nerve cells by reducing cytokines such as IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α.
The most direct pharmacological research specifically on F. sumbul concerns the anxiolytic potential of its essential oil. Batra, Kumar, and Sharma (2020), publishing in The Natural Products Journal, Volume 10, Number 3, pp. 262–271, conducted a study in which the essential oil of F. sumbul roots (EOFS) was identified by GC-MS analysis and evaluated for mechanism-based anxiolytic potential. EOFS was extracted using a Clevenger apparatus and screened for anxiolytic activity using an elevated plus maze model, with a battery of models subsequently used to confirm the activity.
This work was preceded by the same research group's bioactivity-guided fractionation study: F. sumbul (Apiaceae) has been traditionally used as a sedative in hysteria and other nervous disorders. The study aimed to isolate the antianxiety constituent(s) from F. sumbul roots using a bioactivity-guided fractionation approach. Dried coarsely powdered roots were subjected to successive exhaustive Soxhlet extraction using petroleum ether, chloroform, and ethanol, and a decoction of the marc was prepared using distilled water. The extracts were screened for antianxiety activity in mice using an elevated plus maze model at three different dose levels. The chloroform extract, exhibiting significant antianxiety activity, was subjected to column chromatography to obtain four fractions (F1–F4), which were further evaluated for antianxiety activity.
Evidence strength: All reported anxiolytic studies are preclinical, conducted in rodents. No published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in human populations have been identified for F. sumbul's anxiolytic or sedative effects. The evidence is preliminary and restricted to animal models.
The methanol extract of the dried roots of Ferula sumbul afforded novel coumarins including fesumtuorin A–H; some of the isolated compounds showed anti-HIV activity and very weak inhibition of cytokine release. This genus is well documented as a good source of biologically active compounds such as coumarins, terpene alcohols, and sesquiterpene derivatives.
Evidence strength: This is in vitro laboratory research only (Zhou et al., Phytochemistry 53:689–697, 2000). No clinical data exist to extend these findings to human therapeutic applications.
King's American Dispensatory recorded that sumbul was recommended in gastric spasm, diarrhoea, dysentery, leucorrhoea, asthma, and chronic bronchitis. The remedy was used in stomach disease, diarrhoea, in dysentery, and in cholera.
Evidence strength: These reports derive entirely from 19th-century clinical observations and case series in Eclectic and European medical literature, without controlled prospective trials. No modern pharmacological study has specifically validated antispasmodic efficacy for F. sumbul root in humans.
Murawieff (a Russian physician) advised sumbul in both acute and chronic pulmonary disease, through its influence upon the nervous system, probably influencing the circulatory and respiratory functions, supporting them under the strain of protracted inflammation. Dr. Murawieff considered the balsamic resin as the active part, and proposed its use, in the form of pills or tincture, in pulmonary diseases.
Evidence strength: Historical clinical opinion only. No controlled studies have specifically tested F. sumbul for respiratory conditions.
Eclectic physicians described sumbul as a stimulating tonic to the nervous system, particularly adapted to neurasthenia and nervous exhaustion of anemic or chlorotic women to allay nervous unrest and impart tone; many physicians employed it as a nerve tonic and reconstructive in convalescence from prolonged illness.
Evidence strength: Historical clinical use; no modern RCTs or controlled studies.
Various studies on F. sumbul roots evaluated macroscopic, microscopic, physico-chemical characteristics, and thin layer chromatography (TLC) fingerprint profile using standard procedures. Roots were observed to be cylindrical and hairy with distinct odor. Microscopic evaluation revealed prominent cork cells, parenchymatous cells, vessels, prismatic calcium oxalate crystals, and starch grains. Phytochemical screening of various extracts showed the presence of triterpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins, phenols, alkaloids, proteins, and carbohydrates. These characterization studies (Batra et al., Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 2017) provide a standardized reference for botanical authentication.
Sumbul has been compounded and used in several pharmaceutical forms throughout its history in Western medicine. The following dosages are drawn directly from historical pharmacopeial and dispensatory sources:
No modern clinical trials have established a standardized human dose for any therapeutic indication. The above figures reflect historical pharmacopeial conventions and preclinical research only.
Sumbul was first brought to Russia in 1835 as a substitute for musk, and in 1867 was introduced into the British Pharmacopoeia. Its use in official Western pharmacopeias extended through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is no longer monographed in current editions of major pharmacopeias such as the British Pharmacopoeia or the United States Pharmacopeia.
As Ferula sumbal (sic.), the species is listed in the category "plants with alleged hallucinogenic effects" in an authoritative work on psychotropic plants by Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hofmann, citing in support articles by pharmacognosist Norman Farnsworth. The precise mechanism or constituents responsible for any such effect have not been characterized in peer-reviewed literature specifically for this species.
The main phytochemicals present in the genus Ferula include coumarins and prenylated coumarins. Coumarins as a chemical class have recognized hepatotoxic potential at high doses and are subject to regulatory restrictions in certain contexts. In fragrance regulation, coumarin — a sweet, vanilla-like scent chemical — is limited due to skin sensitivity issues. Whether the specific coumarins isolated from F. sumbul share these toxicological profiles has not been established through dedicated safety studies for this species.
The methanol extract of the dried roots of Ferula sumbul has been confirmed to contain furanocoumarin esters (fesumtuorin A and B). Furanocoumarins (psoralens) as a class are well-known photosensitizers that can cause phototoxic reactions upon skin exposure followed by UV light. This is a general class-effect consideration relevant to preparations containing F. sumbul extract, though it has not been specifically tested for the fesumtuorins in human skin models.
Based on the preclinical mechanistic evidence, the essential oil of F. sumbul roots has been shown to interact with GABA-A/benzodiazepine receptors: a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist (flumazenil) was used in investigating the possible involvement of GABA receptors, confirming receptor-mediated activity. This mechanistic finding implies a theoretical pharmacodynamic interaction with central nervous system depressants including benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and other sedatives, although human interaction data are absent.
An inferior sumbul, having only a faint musky odor, is derived from Ferula suaveolens. Bombay or Indian Sumbul was an adulterant supplied by the roots of Dorema ammoniacum. As a consequence, the identity and potency of commercially available sumbul preparations may vary significantly, and products should be authenticated to the correct species. Studies have carried out macroscopic, microscopic, physico-chemical characteristics, and thin layer chromatography fingerprint profiling to address the need for standardized identification of F. sumbul roots.
Ferula sumbul (syn. Ferula moschata) is one of the unexplored plants of this genus with only sporadic literature reports. No human safety trials, dose-finding studies, or long-term toxicological assessments specific to F. sumbul have been published. All safety inferences must be extrapolated from historical use, related Ferula species data, or chemical class considerations.
Health conditions that Sumbul may help support.
Body systems that Sumbul may help support.
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