Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Foresight on Phytoconstituents and Associated Pharmacological Activities of Traditional Medicinal Plant: Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipschitz

  • Naturopathy, Nanotechnology, Nutraceuticals, and Immunotherapy in Cancer Research (H Latha, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Pharmacology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The plant species Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch (S. costus) belongs to the Asteraceae family and is well noticed for its wide range of therapeutic applications. This species is classified as critically endangered, and hence, efforts have been made to delve deep into the empirical investigation of its phytoconstitutents and a wide range of pharmacological potentials of the plant.

Recent Findings

Extraction and fractionation of this medicinal plant emphasized the presence of lignans, flavonoids, steroids, glycosides, triterpenes, sesquiterpenes, lactones, etc. Other constituents include linoleic, palmitic, costic acids, and β-sitosterol. Sesquiterpenes are the major phytoconstituents which includes costunolide, α-cyclocostunolide, β-cyclocostunolide, iso-zaluzanin-C, dehydrocostuslactone, isodehydrocostus lactone, alantolactone, isoalantolactone, guaianolide, etc. Earlier studies on different extracts demonstrated that S. costus have different pharmacological activities. Researchers highlighted sesquiterpenes from S. costus are responsible for its anticancer activity against breast, liver, colon, prostatic, ovarian, leukemias, gastric, bladder, and lung.

Summary

Our present review has summarized its specific phytochemical composition and pharmacological activities like anticancer, antibacterial, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-rheumatism, and to make awareness about its therapeutic importance. Future investigations on isolation and characterization of the active compounds can provide a remarkable lead in herbal drug medicine as a convincing solution, also as a powerful alternative choice of drug in near future for mankind. In addition, strong policies and research are required to protect from the threshold of destruction.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Pandey MM, Rastogi S, Rawat AKS. Saussurea costus: botanical, chemical and pharmacological review of an ayurvedic medicinal plant. J Ethnopharmacol. 2007;110:379–90.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. http://www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Compositae/Saussurea. Assessed on 10.10.2021

  3. Amara U, Mashwani ZR, Khan A, Laraib S, Wali R, Uzma S, et al. Conservation status and therapeutic potential of Saussurea lappa: an overview. Am J Plant Sci. 2017;8:602–14.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kirtikar KR, Basu BD. Indian medicinal plants. 2001; Vol. 6, 2nd ed. Oriental Enterprises, Uttranchal, India. pp. 1961–1965.

  5. Nadda RK, Ali A, GOyal RC, Khosla PK, Goyal R. Aucklandia costus (Syn. Saussurea costus): ethnopharmacology of an endangered medicinal plant of the Himalayan region. J Ethnopharmacol. 2020;263:113199.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Rathore S, Debnath P, Kumar R. Kuth (Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch.): a critically endangered medicinal plant from Himalaya. J Appl Res Med Aromat Plants. 2020;20(4):100277.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Semwal RB, Joshi K, Arjun P, Badoni PP, Semwal DK. Biological applications and secondary metabolites of Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. J Convent Know Holist Health. 2020;4(1):1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Madhuri K, Elango K, Ponnusankar S. Saussurea lappa (Kuth root): review of its traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology. Orient Pharm Exp Med. 2012;12:1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bhattacharjee SK. Handbook of medicinal plant. Pointer Publisher Jaipur.2004: 315.

  10. Tejaswi JKD, Govinda Rajan R, Sara P. Investigation of phytochemical activities of Saussurea lappa C.B. clarke root extract. World J Pharm Sci. 2018;6(9):127–30.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Singh R, Chahal KK, Singla N. Chemical composition and pharmacological activities of Saussurea lappa: a review. J Pharmacog Phytochem. 2017;6(4):1298–308.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Abdelwahab SI, Taha EMM, Alhazmi HA, Ahsan W, Rehman Z, Al Bratty M, et al. Phytochemical profiling of costus (Saussurea lappa Clarke) root essential oil and its antimicrobial and toxicological effects. Trop J Pharm Res. 2019;18(10):2155–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Gwari G, Bhandari U, Andola HC, Lohani H, Chauhan N. Volatile constituents of Saussurea costus roots cultivated in Uttarakhand Himalayas. India Pharmacogn Res. 2013;5(3):179–82.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Chang KM, Kim GH. Comparison of volatile aroma components from Saussurea lappa C.B. Clarke root oils. J Food Sci Nutr. 2008;13:128–33.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Wanga YF, Ni ZY, Dong M, Cong B, Shi QW, Gua YC, et al. Secondary metabolites of plants from the Genus Saussurea: chemistry and biological activity. Chem Biodivers. 2010;7:2623–59.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Yang JL, Wang R, Liu LL, Shi YP. Phytochemicals and biological activities of Saussurea species. J Asian Nat Prod Res. 2010;12(2):162–75.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Semwal P, Painuli S. Antioxidant, antimicrobial, and GC-MS profiling of Saussurea obvallata (Brahma Kamal) from Uttarakhand Himalaya. Clin Phytoscience. 2019;5:12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Kalsi PS, Kumar S, Jawanda GS, Chhabra BR. Guaianolides from Saussurea lappa. Phytochemistry. 1995;40:1713–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Yin HQ, Fu HW, Hua HM, Qi XL, Li W, Sha Y, et al. Two new sesquiterpene lactones with the sulfonic acid group from Saussurea lappa. Chem Pharm Bull. 2005;53:841–2.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Sastri BN. The wealth of India (A dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products): raw materials. 1989; Vol. 2. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India. pp. 173.

  21. Nadkarni KM. Indian Materia Medica. 1993; Vol. 1. Bombay Popular Prakashan, Mumbai, India. pp. 185–186.

  22. Chopra RN, Nayar SL, Chopra IC, Glossary of Indian medicinal plants. CSIR. New Delhi, India: Publication and Information Directorate; 1956.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Dhar GH, Virjee P, Kachroo P, Buth GM. Ethnobotany of Kashmir-I. Sind valley J Econ Taxon Bot. 1984;5:668–75.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Shati AA, Alkahtani MA, Alfaifi MY, Elbehairi SEI, Elsaid FG, Prasanna R, et al. Secondary metabolites of Saussurea costus leaf extract induce apoptosis in breast, liver, and colon cancer cells by caspase-3- dependent intrinsic pathwa. BioMed Res Int. 2020; Article ID 1608942.

  25. Tian X, Song HS, Cho YM, Park B, Song YJ, Jang SJ, et al. Anticancer effect of Saussurea lappa extract via dual control of apoptosis and autophagy in prostate cancer cells. Med. 2017;96:30.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Patel AA, Amanullah M, Eissa M, Elsaid FG, Soliman T. A study on anti-cancer properties of Saussurea lappa (Asteraceae) against breast and colonic cancer cell Lines. Clin Oncol. 2020;5:1702.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Moon SM, Yun SJ, Kook JK, Kim HJ, Choi MS, Park BR, et al. Anticancer activity of Saussurea lappa extract by apoptotic pathway in KB human oral cancer cells. Pharm Biol. 2013;51(11):1372–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Choi EJ, Kim GH. Evaluation of anticancer activity of dehydrocostuslactone in vitro. Mol Med Rep. 2010;3:185–8.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Ansari S, Hasan K, Bhat S. Anticancer, antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity of Saussurea lappa, C.B. clarke (qust) on human hepatoma cell line. J Can Res Ther. 2021;17:499–503.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Alotaibi AA, Bepari A, Assiri RA, Niazi SK, Nayaka S, Rudrappa M, et al. Saussurea Lappa exhibits anti-oncogenic effect in hepatocellular carcinoma, HepG2 cancer cell line by Bcl-2 mediated apoptotic pathway and mitochondrial cytochrome C release. Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2021;43:1114–32.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Kim EJ, Lim SS, Park SY, Shin HK, Kim JS, Park JHY. Apoptosis of DU145 human prostate cancer cells induced by dehydrocostus lactone isolated from the root of Saussurea lappa. Food Chem Toxicol. 2008;46:3651–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Choi EJ, Ahn WS. Antiproliferative effects of dehydrocostuslactone through cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human ovarian cancer SK-OV-3 cells. Int J Mol Med. 2009;23:211–6.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Hassan SSA, Al-Balushi MS, Alharthy K, Al-Busaidi JZ, Aldaihani MS, Othman MS, et al. Evaluation of anti-resistant activity of Auklandia (Saussurea lappa) root against some human pathogens. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2013;3(7):557–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Sagar A, Chauhan V, Prakash V. Studies on endophytes and antibacterial activity of Saussurea costus (falc.) Lipsch. J Drug Deli Therap. 2017;7(2):5–10.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Abdallah EM, Qureshi KA, Ali AMH, Elhassan GO. Evaluation of some biological properties of Saussurea costus crude root extract. Biosci Biotech Res Commun. 2017;10(4):601–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Alnahdi HS, Danial EN, Elhalwagy MEAE, Ayaz NO. Phytochemical studies, antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activities of herbal medicinal plants costus and cidir used in Saudi Arabia. Int J Pharmacol. 2017;13(5):481–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Chang KM, Choi SI, Chung SJ, Kim GH. Anti-microbial Activity of Saussurea lappa C.B. Clarke Roots. J Food Sci Nutr. 2011;16:376–80.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Minhas SA, Khan FM, Abbas F, Faiz AH. Phytochemical screening and determination of antibacterial, anti-Tumorigenic and DNA protection ability of root extracts of Saussurea Lappa. J Biores Manag. 2017;4(4):1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Premalatha M, Lakshmi S. A study on the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in the ethyl acetate extract of Saussurea lappa. Int J Curr Res. 2020;12(7):12662–7.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Omer REE, Koua HM, Abdelhag IM, Ismail AM. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry profiling of the costus plant Saussurea lappa (Decne.) C.B. Clarke root extracts and their anti-bacterial activity. J Appl Pharm Sci. 2019;9(5):73–81.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Abdelwahab SI, Taha MME, Alhazmi HA, Ahsan W, Rehman Z, Bratty MA, et al. Phytochemical profiling of costus (Saussurea lappa Clarke) root essential oil, and its antimicrobial and toxicological effects. Trop J Pharm Res. 2019;18(10):2155–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Deabes MM, El-Fatah SIA, Salem SH, Naguib KM. Antimicrobial activity of bioactive compounds extract from Saussurea costus against food spoilage microorganisms. Egypt J Chem. 2021;64(6):2833–43.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Duraipandiyan V, Al-Harbi NA, Ignacimuthu S, Muthukumar C. Antimicrobial activity of sesquiterpene lactones isolated from traditional medicinal plant, Costus specious (Koen ex. Retz.) Sm. BMC Complementary and Alter Med. 2012;12:13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Sutar N, Garai R, Sharma US, Singh N, Roy SD. Antiulcerogenic activity of Saussurea lappa root. Int J Pharm Life Sci. 2011;2(1):516–20.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Zhang TY, Wang P, Wang Q, Liang QK, Wang YD, Ling XC, et al. Saussurea lappa modulates gastrointestinal motility, motilin and cholecystokinin expression in ulcer rats. J Gastroenterol Hepatol Res. 2016;5(2):2021–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Mitra SK, Gopumadhavan S, Hemavathi TS, Muralidhar TS, Venkataranganna MV. Protective effect of UL-409, a herbal formulation against physical and chemical factor induced gastric and duodenal ulcers in experimental animals. J Ethnopharmacol. 1996;52:165–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Venkataranganna MV, Gopumadhavan S, Sundaram R, Mitra SK. Evaluation of possible mechanism of anti-ulcerogenic activity of UL-409, a herbal preparation. J Ethnopharmacol. 1998;63:187–92.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Yoshikawa M, Hatakeyama S, Inoue Y, Yamahara J, Saussureamines A. B, C, D, and E, new anti-ulcer principles from chinese Saussureae Radix. Chem Pharm Bull. 1993;41(1):214–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Matsuda H, Kageura T, Inoue Y, Morikawa T, Yoshikawa M. Absolute stereostructures and syntheses of saussureamines A, B, C, D and E, amino acid-sesquiterpene conjugates with gastroprotective effect, from the roots of Saussurea lappa. Tetrahedron. 2000;56:7763–77.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Yamahara J, Kobayashi M, Miki K, Kozuka M, Sawada T, Fujimura H. Cholagogic and antiulcer effect of Saussureae Radix and its active components. Chem Pharm Bull. 1985;33(3):1285–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Gokhale AB, Damre AS, Kulkarni KR, Sara MN. Preliminary evaluation of anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic activity of S. lappa, A. speciosa and A. aspera. Phytomed. 2002;9:433–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Tag HM, Khaled HE, Ismail HAA, El-Shenawy NS. Evaluation of anti-inflammatory potential of the ethanolic extract of the Saussurea lappa root (costus) on adjuvant-induced monoarthritis in rats. J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol. 2016;27(1):71–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Matsuda H, Toguchida I, Ninomiya K, Kageura T, Morikawa T, Yoshikawa M. Effects of sesquiterpenes and amino acid–sesquiterpene conjugates from the roots of Saussurea lappa on Inducible nitric oxide synthase and heat shock protein in lipopolysaccharideactivated macrophage. Bioorg Med Chem. 2003;11:709–15.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Damre AA, Damre S, Saraf MN. Evaluation of sesquiterpene lactone fraction of Saussurea lappa on transudative, exudative and proliferative phases of inflammation. Phytother Res. 2003;17:722–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Kang JS, Yoon YD, Lee KH, Park SK, Kim HM. Costunolide inhibits interleukin-1b expression by down-regulation of AP-1 and MAPK activity in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2004;313:171–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Cho JY, Baik KU, Jung JH, Park MH. In vitro anti-inflammatory effects of cynaropicrin, a sesquiterpene lactone, from Saussurea lappa. Eur J Pharmacol. 2000;398:399–407.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Chandur U, Shashidhar S, Chandrasekar SB, Bhanumathy M, Midhun T. Phytochemical evaluation and anti-arthritic activity of root of Saussurea lappa. Pharmacologia. 2011;2:265–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Chik WI, Zhu L, Fan LL, Yi T, Zhu GY, Gou XJ, et al. Saussurea involucrata: A review of the botany, phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology of a rare traditional herbal medicine. J Ethnopharmacol. 2015;172:44–60.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Xiao W, Li X, Li N, Bolati M, Wang X, Jia X, et al. Sesquiterpene lactones from Saussurea involucrate. Fitoterapia. 2011;82:983–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, University College of Engineering (BIT Campus), Anna University, Tiruchirappalli, 620 024, India

    M. Vijayalakshmi, A. Umamaheswari, B. Agalya, S. N. Jegasubramaniam & S. Lakshmana Prabu

Authors
  1. M. Vijayalakshmi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. Umamaheswari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. B. Agalya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. S. N. Jegasubramaniam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. S. Lakshmana Prabu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. Lakshmana Prabu.

Ethics declarations

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Naturopathy, Nanotechnology, Nutraceuticals, and Immunotherapy in Cancer Research

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vijayalakshmi, M., Umamaheswari, A., Agalya, B. et al. Foresight on Phytoconstituents and Associated Pharmacological Activities of Traditional Medicinal Plant: Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipschitz. Curr Pharmacol Rep 8, 281–289 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40495-022-00287-8

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40495-022-00287-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation