Last updated: 02 August 2016
Cheilocostus speciosus (J.Koenig) C.D.Specht
Amomum arboretum Lour., Amomum hirsutum Lam., Banksea speciosa J. Koenig, Cardamomum arboretum (Lour.) Kuntze, Costus angustifolius Ker Gawl., Costus argyrophyllus Wall. [Invalid], Costus crispiflorus Stokes, Costus foeniculaceus Noronha, Costus formosanus Nakai, Costus formosanus (Nakai) S.S. Ying, Costus glaber (K. Schum.) Merr., Costus glabratus Rchb. [Illegitimate], Costus hirsutus Blume, Costus lamingtonii F.M. Bailey, Costus loureiroi Horan., Costus nipalensis Roscoe, Costus potierae F. Muell., Costus sericeus Blume, Costus speciosus (J.Koenig) Sm., Costus vaginalis Salisb., Hellenia grandiflora Retz., Kaempferia speciosa (J.Koenig) Thunb., Planera speciosa (J.Koenig) Giseke, Pyxa speciosa (J.Koenig) M.R.Almeida [Invalid], Tsiana speciosa (J.Koenig) J.F.Gmel, Costus speciosus var. angustifolius Ker Gawl., Costus speciosus var. argyrophyllus Wall. ex. Baker, Costus speciosus var. dilnavaziae M.R.Almeida & S.M.Almeida, Costus speciosus var. formosanus (Nakai) S.S.Ying, Costus specious var. hirsutus Blume, Costus speciosus var. leocalyx Nakai, Costus speciosus var. sericeus (Blume) K.Schum., Costus spicatus var. pubescens Griseb. [1]
Malaysia | Setawar, setawar hutan, tabar [2] |
English | Canereed, crepe ginger, elegant costus, insulin plant, Malay ginger, spiral ginger, wild ginger [2] |
China | Bi qiao jiang, zhang liu tou [2] |
India | Aarathi kundige, achouba, adavi pasupu, akotanarong, alor naro, alarnaro, anakkuva, anappu, arrod, bao ada, batelahari, benne kundige, betlauree, betlauree, betlauri, beylauri,cancamancam, canda, gaigobra, gimisiriya, hullikabbu, itapavanati, jamiakkunti, jamlakhuti, kaashmeeremu, kacumiram, mahalakri, malai vasambu, naagaali, nariccanna, oli, onapoovu, paaribhavyamu, padmakarna, quste talkh, roo-pa-tong, sagara, sarapgandha, tattan, tatti, ubariyavi, upariyavi, vamananitam, vana vaasa; ruk laop (Lepcha) [2] |
Indonesia | Bekar, pe luan [2] |
Philippines | Baston de San José, lunas, setawar, tambak, tubong-usa, tutubungiau [2] |
Vietnam | Cat loi, dot dang, mia do, oi pha, se vong, tau chom [2]. |
Papua New Guinea | Malamalai, mangmang, saiwaha, tomtom, tomtomele, totomuho [2] |
Cheilocostus speciosus is widely grown in Himalayas, New Guinea and Malaysia country. It is suitable under humid condition, shadowed places up to 1,200 metres above sea level. [3]
C. speciosus is a member of the Costaceae family. It is an aromatic herb with fleshy branched underground rhizomes. [4]
The stem can reach up to 2 m tall. It is stout, red and leafy. [4]
The leaves are oblong or oblanceolate, acute or acuminate, often cuspidate, glabrous above and silky pubescent beneath and sheathing at the base. They are subsessile and arranged in spiral. It measures 15-30 cm long. [4]
The flowers are 4 cm across, white, funnel-shaped, with contrasting large bright red ovate bracts measuring 1.4-4 cm long, numerous in a very dense cylindrical spike of 5-10 cm long. [4]
The calyx with 3 oval lobes; corolla tube shorter than the calys with unequal petals measuring 2.5-4cm. The lip is white and the center is orange red, rounded, measures 5-8 cm, forming a funnel with margins incurved and meeting. The capsule red, crowned with persistent calyx. [4]
No documentation.
C. speciosus rhizomes has been reported to contain diosgenin, prosapogenin B of dioscin, diosgenone, cycloartanol, 25-en-cycloartenol and octacosanoic acid. [5]
C. speciosus has been reported to contain 3-O-[a-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1à2)-b-D-glyopyranosyl]-26-O-[b-D-glucopyranosyl]-22-a-methoxy-(25R); methyl triacontanoate; methyl-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2E-propenoate; b-sitosterol-b-D-glucopyranoside; b-sitosterol glucoside; furost-5-n-3b,26-diol; gracillin; ligogenin; methyl protodioscin; protodioscin; tigogenin. [4][6]
Leaf, rhizome, stem and root [2][3]
The leaf used as liniment to relieve soreness and irritation. They possess a cooling action but can also act as a sudorific. [2][3] The leaves are used topically over wounds and ulcers and the stem is recommended for treatment of burns. [4][6][7][8]
The rhizome has diuretic and anti-inflammatory effects and commonly used to treat dropsy, carbunacles and gonorrhoea. In Malays, the fresh rhizomes are usually consumed as a laxative. The Nepalese and Indian used it to stop hiccoughs, asthma, bronchitis, and colds. In Indonesia and China the rhizome forms part of the remedy for liver cirrhosis, and the accompanying jaundice and ascites. However, overdose of the rhizome or consuming fresh rhizome can lead to toxic symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract namely vomiting, diarrhea and giddiness. Thus, it had been recommended that the rhizomes should be detoxified by steaming it before drying and using in as medicine. The rhizome is considered an antidote and had been advocated for use especially in snakebites and other venomous bites. It is also used in cases of dog bites and the accompanying rabies. [4][6][7][8]
The stem extract of C. speciosus can used to treat dysentery. Stem crushed and stem sap used to relieve constipation, catarrh as well as toothache. The poultice made up from the stalks mixed with young leaf is used as hair wash to promote hair growth.
The root of C. speciosus is bitter and astringent and is considered a stimulant, digestive, anthelmintic, depurative and aphrodisiac. In addition, the roots also are used to treat catarrhal fever, cough, dyspepsia, skin problems, syphilis, tuberculosis, and menstrual problems. In India, the roots are used in postnatal care and also considered a galactagogue. In Nepals the roots are used to treat inflammatory conditions like rheumatism, lumbago and pain in the marrow. It is also useful for infectious conditions like otitis externa, conjunctivitis, leprosy and other skin infections. It diuretic effects had been used effectively in cases of dropsy, oliguria and dysuria. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Pharmacology
Antidiabetic activity
Extract of C. speciosus rhizomes has been demonstrated to exhibit as a potent hypoglycaemic agent. The results indicated that in diabetic rat, C. speciosus significantly (p<0.002) showed hypoglycaemic effect when the juice was fed with simultaneous glucose load. [9]
Ethanol extract of C. speciosus root extract (150, 300 and 450 mg/kg bw) was administrated orally to four groups of alloxan-induced diabetic male (Charles Foster) rats for 4 weeks. Results indicated that the administration of both 300 and 450 mg/kg bw doses significantly reduced blood glucose concentration (26.76%, 34.68%), reduced plasma total lipid (12.87%, 178.24%), cholesterol (21.92%, 30.77%) and triglyceride (25.32%, 33.99%), respectively. [10]
Costunolide and eremanthin isolated from hexane extract of C. speciosus root was administrated to streptozotocin (STZ) (50 mg/kg bw) induced diabetic male Wistar rats at different doses (5, 10, 20 mg/kg bw) for 30 and 60 days, respectively. The results has been found that the level of plasma glucose was significantly (p<0.05) reduced in a dose dependent manner when compared to the control. In addition, oral administration of costunolide (20 mg/kg bw) also was significantly reduced glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA(1c)), serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol level, as well as elevated plasma insulin, tissue glycogen, HDL cholesterol and serum protein. [11][12]
Antimicrobial activity
The hexane extract of C. speciosus showed significant antibacterial and antifungal activities. The most potent compound isolated in this extract was costunolide. It is active against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. simii, T. rubrum 296, Epidermophyton floccosum, Scopulariopsis sp., Aspergillus niger, Curvulari lunata and Magnaporthe grisea. The other compound isolated was eremanthin which has lesser antifungal activity. [13]
Methanol extract of C. speciosus stem and flower has been reported to demonstrate antituberculosis activity with MIC of 800 µg/mL. [14]
Anti-inflammatory activity
Costunolide isolated from C. speciosus root extract was found to inhibit the expression of tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1,6, induceible nitric oxide synthase, monocyte chemotactic protein 1 and cyclooxygenase 2 in activated microglia. There was a corresponding stimulation of NFkappaB and suppression of MAPK pathway activation by inducing MKP-1 production. In total, Costunolide shows an ability to inhibit expression of multiple neuroinflammatory mediators through inhibition of NFkappa B and activation of MAKP. [15]
Oxytocic activity
The ethanol extract of C. speciosus rhizomes (10 mg/100 mL) was significantly increased phasic contraction of isolated rat uterine muscle. This contraction effect was abolished by inhibition of I-type calcium channels or myosin light chain kinase (MLCK). This was not blocked by estrogen receptor blocker which proves that this effect was not due to the presence of diosgenin. Thus, the extract increases contraction of isolated rat uterine muscles by calcium entry on I-type calcium channels and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium release. [16]
Antioxidant activity
The administration of either costunolide (20 mg/kg) or eremanthin (20 mg/kg) isolated from C. speciosus was found to be able to reduce the oxidative damage seen in STZ induced diabetic rats. They seem to cause significant reduction in TBARS level and a significant increase in GSH content along with increased enzymatic activities of SOD, CAT and GPx. [17]
Antinociceptive activity
Aqueous and ethanol extracts of C. speciosus rhizomes were assessed for their antinociceptive activity. Both extracts were found to have significant peripheral anti-nociceptive actions but only the ethanol extract showed significant central analgesic activity. [18]
Toxicity
Raw/fresh rhizome is poisonous. The rhizome upon harvesting need to be washed sliced and steamed before being dried for use. [6][8] Costunolide and eremanthin did not show any toxic effects in acute toxic study in rats. [14]
Clinical findings
No documentation.
Precautions
No documentation.
Side effects
No documentation.
Pregnancy/Breast Feeding
No documentation.
Age limitation
No documentation.
Adverse reaction
Overdose can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and dizziness. [8]
Interaction & Depletion
No documentation.
Interaction with drug
There is a possible cumulative effect when used with antidiabetic drugs due to the proven antidiabetic activities of two components of the extracts of the rhizome i.e. costunolide and eremanthin. [8][9]
Interaction with other Herbs
No documentation.
Contraindications
Contraindicated in pregnancy. [6][8][13]
Case Report
No documentation.
No documentation.
No documentation.
No documentation.