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Saussurea lappa (Falc.) Lipsch. (Asteraceae/Compositae)

(Syns.: S. costus (Decne.) Sch.Bip.; Aplotaxis lappa Decne.; Aucklandia costus Falc; A. lappa Decne.; Theodorea costus Kuntze)

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Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants

Abstract

A perennial herb, distributed across Himalayan region of India. Costus root was known to the Greeks and Arabs, and was introduced to Europe by Arab physicians, and was called Arabian Costus . Dioscorides said: “The best is that which is fresh, light-colored, compact and of firm texture, dry, not worm-eaten, devoid of an acrid smell, and which tastes hot and biting.” Arabian writers described costus as “a wood brought from India, a well-known drug of sweet odor with which women and infants are fumigated; it is diuretic, beneficial to liver in a high degree, and for the colic, and for worms, and quartan fever as a beverage; and for rheum, and defluxions, and pestilence, when the patient is fumigated therewith; and for leprous-like disorder called Bahq, and the discoloration of the face called Kalaf, when applied as a liniment; and it confines bowels, expels wind, strengthen the stomach and heart, occasions pleasurable sensations, is an ingredient in many sorts of perfumes, and is the best of perfumes in odor when one fumigates therewith.” In Atharvaveda, it holds the position next to Soma (a divine plant) in curing several diseases, and in Ayurveda, its roots are used for fevers, skin diseases, and headache. Other authors described its uses in asthma, inflammatory diseases, ulcer and stomach problems, and also as incense. Some writers have identified two kinds of costus; Qust -e-talkh (bitter) and Qust -e-shirin (sweet); which have been suggested as being the older and younger roots, respectively. Saussurea lappa was introduced in China from India, and is now cultivated in southwest China. In Chinese medicine, it is described as a superior drug in The Herbal by Shen Nung and is regarded as an aromatic stomachic, vermifuge, and fragrant; and used for asthma, distension and pain in the chest and abdomen, indigestion, vomiting, diarrhea, tenesmus, and quieting of premature uterine contractions during pregnancy, and is also described as a sedative. Most pharmacologically active substances present in roots are sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpene lactones; other compounds include glycosides, anthraquinones, chlorogenic acid, β-costic acid, daucosterol, β-sitosterol, and saussureamines A to E.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Tayyab M: Personal Communication.

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    Shahid Akbar

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Akbar, S. (2020). Saussurea lappa (Falc.) Lipsch. (Asteraceae/Compositae). In: Handbook of 200 Medicinal Plants. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16807-0_166

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