Phytochemical competence and pharmacological perspectives of an endangered boon—Costus speciosus (Koen.) Sm.: a comprehensive review (original) (raw)

Bulletin of the National Research Centre

Background Costus speciosus (Koen) Sm. popularly known as crepe ginger or spiral ginger and insulin plant is a perennial rhizomatous herb contain variable number of medicinally important bioactive phytochemicals having intensive pharmacological effects due to antioxidant, antimicrobial, insecticidal, anticancerous, and antidiabetic properties. This plant is widely distributed throughout India and has tremendous ethnobotanical uses. This review article is the coalescence of the distribution, morphology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, effect, and mode of action of pharmacologically active principles of Costus speciosus. Main body The therapeutic potential possessed by the plant is mainly the attribution of the bioactive compounds such as phenolics, steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids, and tannins, which are found to be present in different parts of the plant. Bioactive constituents like diosgenin, gracillin, dioscin, prosapogenins A and B of dioscin, eremanthin, costu...