Pharmacognostical study and establishment of quality parameters of aerial parts of Costus speciosus-a well known tropical folklore medicine

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the diagnostic pharmacognostical characters of Costus speciosus (aerial parts) along with their physico-chemical parameters and fluorosence analysis.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The pharmacognostical characters were determined in terms of macroscopy, microscopy, powder microscopy, leaf constant, fluorescence analysis and preliminary phytochemical investigation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The findings of macroscopy revealed that leaves elliptic to oblong or oblong-lancoelate, thick, spirally arranged, with stem clasping sheaths up to 4 cm, flowers large, white, cone-like terminal spikes, with bright red bracts. Transverse section of leaflet showed the presence of cuticularised epidermis with polygonal cells on adaxial surface and bluntly angled cells on abaxial surface of lamina, mesophyll cells differentiated in to single layered palisade cells on each surface and 2-3 layered spongy parenchyma, unicellular and uniseriate multicellular covering trichomes, paracytic stomata and vascular bundles surrounded by sclerenchymatous multicellular sheath. Preliminary phytochemical screening exhibited the presence of various phytochemical groups like alkaloids, glycosides, steroids, phenolic constituents. Further, the leaf constants, powder microscopy and fluorescence characteristics indicated outstanding results from this investigation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Various pharmacognostical and physico-chemical parameters have pivotal roles in identification, authentication and establishment of quality parameters of the species.</p>