Pharmacophore an International Research Journal
Background: Costus speciosus (C.speciosus), family Costaceae (Zingiberaceae), is a popular medicinal herb that was cultivated in India.It has numerous bioactive compounds that possess multiple pharmacological benefitslike β-carotene, ascorbic acid, glutathione, and α-tocopherol. C. speciosusis among the mosteffective Islamic traditional medicinal plants as has been confirmed in the creditable Hadith found in SunanAbiDawud. In prophetic medicine, C. speciosuswas mostly advised as a treatment for pharyngitis and tonsillitis in children, pleurisy, and antidote for snake venom. Objective: This review aimed to collect the studies which proved the different medicinal activities of C. speciosus extract. Results: The different researches proved that C. speciosus extract possesses many medicinal properties such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticholinesterase, antibacterial, anthelmintic, antifungal, anticancer, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antihyperlipidemic, anxiolytic, mosquito larvicidal, estrogenic, nephroprotective and hepatoprotective activities. Conclusion: C. speciosuswas shown to exerts many therapeutic properties in severalin vitro and in vivo experimental researches.
