Vol. 9, Issue 9 (2020)

Author(s):
K Abirami, Sachidananda Swain and V Baskaran

Abstract:
Costus speciosus(J.Koenig) Sm belonging to family Zingiberaceae is an important medicinal plant distributed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The rhizome is the economic part and exploited medicinally for its stimulant, carminative, diuretic, digestive, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. The steroidal sapogenin is also extracted from Costus speciosus and hence has wide industrial applications. An attempt was made to screen Costus speciosus for phytochemicals and diosgenin. Both tubers and roots showed the presence of carbohydrates, glycosides, saponins, proteins, aminoacids, phytosterols, saponins and phenolic compounds. Coumarins, fixed oils, gums and mucilages were absent in both roots and tubers. The diosgenin content was maximum in roots (1.45 mg/ml) when compared with tubers (0.98 mg/ml).