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Infectious diseases are a serious danger to public health, and plants may be a potential source of novel antimicrobial agents. In this study, the antibacterial and antifungal activity of the essential oil, hexane-chloroform, methanolic, and aqueous extracts of Saussurea costus (S. costus) root were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterobacter cloacae, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. For this evaluation, disc diffusion and micro- dilution susceptibility assays were performed. Chemical analysis was also performed to determine phytochemical constituents of the extracts. Our results showed that the essential oil and methanolic extract of S. costus root exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity, followed by hexane-chloroform extract, with aqueous extract showing the lowest activity. The highest activity with the lowest MIC value was recorded as 3.12 μl/ml for the essential oil (against S. epidermidis and C. albicans), 3.12 mg/ml for the methanolic extract (against S. aureus), and 6.25 mg/ml for both hexane-chloroform and aqueous extracts (against S. aureus). In general, the tested extracts had moderate to good antimicrobial activity against the tested gram-positive bacteria and C. albicans. S. costus root can be considered as a potential natural source of antimicrobial agents to fight pathogen microorganisms.

Lactic acid bacteria is well-known as a vital strategy to alleviate or prevent diabetes. Similarly, the plant Saussurea costus (Falc) Lipsch is a preventive power against diabetes. Here, we aimed to determine whether lactic acid bacteria or Saussurea costus is more effective in treating a diabetic rat model in a comparative study manner. An in vivo experiment was conducted to test the therapeutic activity of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (MW719476.1) and S. costus plants against an alloxan-induced diabetic rat model. Molecular, biochemical, and histological analyses were investigated to evaluate the therapeutic characteristics of different treatments. The high dose of S. costus revealed the best downregulated expression for the IKBKB, IKBKG, NfkB1, IL-17A, IL-6, IL-17F, IL-1β, TNF-α, TRAF6, and MAPK genes compared to Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and the control groups. The downregulation of IKBKB by S. costus could be attributed to dehydrocostus lactone as an active compound with proposed antidiabetic activity. So, we performed another pharmacophore modeling analysis to test the possible interaction between human IkB kinase beta protein and dehydrocostus lactone as an antidiabetic drug. Molecular docking and MD simulation data confirmed the interaction between human IkB kinase beta protein and dehydrocostus lactone as a possible drug. The target genes are important in regulating type 2 diabetes mellitus signaling, lipid and atherosclerosis signaling, NF-κB signaling, and IL-17 signaling pathways. In conclusion, the S. costus plant could be a promising source of novel therapeutic agents for treating diabetes and its complications. Dehydrocostus lactone caused the ameliorative effect of S. costus by its interaction with human IkB kinase beta protein. Further, future studies could be conducted to find the clinical efficacy of dehydrocostus lactone.

Traditional medicine is gaining an increasing importance in diseases management. Besides, thyroid disease is one of the common endocrine disorders spreading at high frequency worldwide. The present work is an ethnopharmacological study aiming to identify, document and analyze aromatic and medicinal plants used in Algerian traditional medicines for thyroid disorders management. Semi-structured interviews with 120 herbalists and traditional practitioners and rural dwellers were realized in eleven locations in Algeria throughout field studies achieved from June 2017 to July 2019. Results reveal the use of 63 medicinal plants belonging to 59 genera and 34 families. The most represented botanical families were Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Amaranthaceae and Asteraceae. However, the most cited plant species were Atriplex halimus L., Bunium incrassatum (Boiss.) Amo, Nigella sativa L., Aquilaria malaccensis Lam. and Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. These species are taken alone or in mixtures of two or more ingredients from different origins such as honey, olive oil, and goat milk. Our findings revealed new therapeutic uses of 60 medicinal plants that have not been previously reported for the treatment of thyroid in Algeria. This is the first study documenting the traditional uses based on herbal medicine for thyroid management in Algeria. Our findings are relevant in the search for novel drug discovery. Obviously, it is the time to increase effective scientific studies on mechanisms of action of these medicinal plants in order to validate their popular usages.

The study was performed to investigate the prophylactic role of Saussurea costus roots in the functional and histological changes caused by diazinon in the liver and kidneysin chickens. 18 chickens were used of Arbor Acres strain at 54 days of age and 1300-1500 gm average of body weight was used for this purpose. The birds were divided into 3 groups equally (6chicken in each groups), Group 1: served as a control negative received distilled water 1 ml. Group 2: served as a positive control group, received diazinon at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg/day. Group 3: were given an ethanolic extractof Saussurea costus at dose 300 mg/kg, then after one hour administrated diazinon at the dose of 0.2 mg/kg/day, this group served as a prophylactic group. The doses were given orally once daily for 4 weeks.The results of group 2 showed clinical signs such as ruffled feathers, salivation, diarrhea, breathing from the mouth, teary eyes, drooping of wings. The body weights of the chickens and weights of the liver and kidneys of group 2 significantly declined (p≤ 0.05) compared with groups 1 and 3. There was a significant decrease (p≤ 0.05) in WBC count, lymphocyte, total protein, albumin, GSH, SOD, CAT, and GPX levels, while a significant increase (p≤0.05) in heterophil, ALT, AST, creatinine, urea, uric acid, and MDA compared with group 1. The gross examination of the liver and kidney of group 2 were pale, easily crumbles and smaller than that of group 1. Histopathological changes of the liver of group 2 including congested and dilated central vein, vacuolated cytoplasm of hepatocytes, focal necrotic tissue filled with inflammatory cells, thickening of the bile duct, thickening wall of the portal artery. fibroblast in portal area, dilated sinusoid. Histopathological changes of the kidney including dilatation of renal tubule, hemorrhage, and atrophy in the glomerulus. we concluded that administration of ethanolic extractof Saussurea costus resulted in amelioration of the morphological changes in diazinon treated chickens, improved parameters and restored the parameters to near normal compared with group 1. These results revealed that Saussurea costus roots acts as an antioxidant substance and has a hepatic and renoprotective effect against toxicity induced by diazinon.

Targeting the control of pathogenic Candida spp., especially the fungicides resistant strains from C. albicans and C. glabrata, nanoconjugates from the biopolymer (chitosan) and costus root extract (Saussurea costus) was synthesized and characterized. Chitosan was extracted from the grown mycelia of Aspergillus niger and characterized with high deacetylation degree of 91.2% and moderate molecular weight of 106.8 kDa. Synthesis of nanoconjugates from fungal chitosan/costus extract (NCt/CE) was conducted using ionic gelation technique; the resulted NCt/CE particles were characterized with mean diameter of 48 nm, positive zeta potentiality (+3.28 mV) and high stability. The infra-red spectra of synthesized nanoconjugates indicated their strong biochemical cross-linkage. The antimycotic activities, of the synthesized NCt, CE and their nanocomposite, were evaluated against standard and antibiotic-resistant strains from C. albicans and C. glabrata and revealed that the entire agents had notable antimycotic potentiality against all examined strains; the NCt/CE nanoconjugates had significantly stronger antimicrobial action. The scanning microscope imaging, of exposed resistant strains to NCt/CE, indicated their vigorous structural and morphological alterations and confirmed the antimycotic activity of the nanocomposite. NCt/CE nanoconjugates' synthesis could be exceedingly recommended as a natural, biodegradable and effectual antimycotic agent to control resistant pathogenic yeast strains.

Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. (Compositae), popularly known as Kuth in Ayurveda, is useful for gastrointestinal disorders in the form of a digestive agent, anti-gastric agent or an appetizer. Its roots have been used in respiratory problems like cough and asthma. The plant is also used in various other traditional medicinal systems including Unani. A number of scientific reports have proved its therapeutic importance as anti-gastric, anti-asthmatic, antispasmodic, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent. A variety of secondary metabolites including sesquiterpenoid lactones, lignins, and phytosterols have been identified as bioactive principles from the roots of this plant. Today, many healthcare products are available in the market those contain S. costus roots as single or in the form of a polyherbal formulation. According to the IUCN Red List, S. lappa is under the threatened category and due to its high demand in the market, it is becoming extinct very fast from its natural habitat. Hence, there is an urgent need to protect the plant by promoting its cultivation on a large scale.

Saussurea costus (S. costus) belongs to family of Asteraceae and is one of the therapeutic plants extensively used as a traditional medicine in Saudi Arabia. Constituents of this plant have the potential to be developed as bioactive molecules. Among Arabs, the prevalence of thyroid disorders ranges from 6.18 % to 47.34% and hypothyroidism has been reported to be the most prevalent. Although there is no natural treatment that can directly replace thyroid hormones, their role as an alternate treatment or as an add-on to available thyroid treatment has been explored. Flavanoids and antioxidant properties of S. costus may be an important mechanism involved in supporting its medicinal use. Current data on the possible role of S. costus in thyroid disorders is lacking and the available evidence is inconclusive. This review deal with the current understanding of use and myth regarding the use of this medicinal plant in thyroid disease.

Selenium (Se) as a bioactive micronutrient could be augmented via transforming into nanoparticles (NPs), especially using biogenic protocols, for usage as an antimicrobial element. The reducing power of costus (Saussurea costus) root extract (SCE) was employed for phytosynthesis of Se-NPs through a simple and rapid protocol that included stirred mixing of 10 mM Na2SeO3 with 1.0% SCE solution for 4 h. The phytosynthesized SCE/Se-NP composite was obtained with a mean diameter of 6.13 nm and a zeta potential of −42.8 mV. Infrared analyses revealed the involvement of many SCE phytogroups in Se-NP synthesis, whereas transmission microscopy displayed well distribution and spherical shapes of the phytosynthesized NPs. The antibacterial assessments against foodborne pathogens (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus) revealed the superior powers of SCE/Se-NPs and the elevated potentialities of SCE and Se-NPs for inhibition of bacterial pathogens. The scanning micrographs indicated that SCE/Se-NPs were attached to bacterial cells and led to their complete lysis/explosion with exposure prolongation. The SCE/Se-NP composites are recommended for the effective control of foodborne bacterial pathogens, applying a simple and eco-friendly phytosynthesis protocol.

The temperate Asteraceae genus Saussurea displays much morphological variation. Recent and previous taxonomic revisions have led to redefinition and later lumping of several additional genera. This study made use of morphological and molecular data to answer questions related to smaller split genera from Saussurea. The result indicates that the genus Lipschitziella, split from Saussurea, is monophyletic after the inclusion of Himalaiella. Another closely allied genus Dolomiaea is also recovered monophyletic after the inclusion of Saussurea costus and Frolovia frolowii. Nine possible new combinations are established.

The anti‐cancer effect of dehydrocostus lactone (DHL) derived from Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipech against laryngeal carcinoma was assessed. The cytotoxic activity of DHL against laryngeal carcinoma is still obscure. Therefore, our study investigated the role of DHL in the growth inhibition of laryngeal carcinoma in vitro and in vivo, and the molecular mechanism of DHL‐induced apoptosis in cancer cells of the larynx. The results showed that DHL inhibits the viability, migration and proliferation of Hep‐2 and TU212 cells with little toxic effects on human normal larynx epithelial HBE cell line. Flow cytometry analysis (FAC) analysis and staining assay (Hoechst 33258) indicated that DHL stimulated Hep‐2 and TU212 cell apoptosis in a dose‐dependent manner. Mechanistically, DHL is capable of inhibiting Hep‐2 and TU212 cell viability via promoting p53 and P21 function, meanwhile DHL dose‐dependently induces Hep‐2 and TU212 cells apoptosis via activating mitochondrial apoptosis by inhibiting PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway and stimulating endoplasmic reticulum stress‐mediated apoptosis pathway. In vivo, DHL inhibited the growth of the Hep‐2 nude mouse xenograft model and observed no significant signs of toxicity in the organs of nude mice. In vivo experiments further confirmed the anti‐cancer effect of DHL on laryngeal carcinoma cells in vitro, and DHL‐treated nude mice can reduce the volume of tumours. Together, our study indicated that DHL has the potential to inhibit human laryngeal carcinoma via activating mitochondrial apoptosis pathway by inhibiting PI3K/Akt/Bad signalling pathway and stimulating endoplasmic reticulum stress‐mediated apoptosis pathway, providing a strategy for the treatment of human laryngeal carcinoma.

Herbal plants can be used to treat and prevent life-threatening diseases, such as prostate cancer, infections and other diseases. The findings from traditional medicine and the use of medicinal plants can help control and treat most problems due to prostate diseases. The aim of this study was to identify and report the most important medicinal plants that affect prostate disorders. Based on the results of the review of numerous articles indexed in the databases ISI, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, etc., a number of plants have been reported to be used in the treatment and prevention of diseases, inflammation, infection, and cancer of the prostate gland. The plants include Panax ginseng, Arum palaestinum, Melissa officinalis, Syzygium paniculatum, Coptis chinensis, Embelia ribes, Scutellaria baicalensis, Tripterygium wilfordii, Salvia triloba, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Psidium guajava, Ganoderma lucidum, Litchi chinensis, Saussurea costus, Andrographis paniculata, Magnolia officinalis and Prunus africana. Phytochemical investigations have examined the therapeutic effects of medicinal plants effective on prostate cancer and their possible mechanisms of action and clinical effects as well as the use of active flavonoids in production of herbal drugs. Due to the active ingredients and important flavonoids of these plants, they can be used in production of herbal drugs that prevent and treat infections, inflammation and cancer of the prostate gland, and reduce the metastasis of prostate cancer cells, reducing the patients’ suffering and pain.

Numerous plants have so far been utilized for the treatment and the executives of different illnesses since the start of human development. One of the regular issues in the clinical world, spreading of bacterial opposition against anti-infection agents, so one of the most significant strides in microbiological investigates is to locate another antimicrobial compound with insignificant reactions. Because of the nearness of organic dynamic mixes in plant and herbs and its utilization in conventional Objective medication and sustenance, it appears that this plants and herbs contain limit significant antimicrobial. So the aim of this study is to explore the antimicrobial action of Boswellia, Lichen, Coffea peel, Rhatany (Krameria triandra), Cuminum cyminum, Pimpinella anisum, Asafoetida, and Saussurea costus aqueous and solvent extracts on some therapeutically significant bacteria and fungi isolated from animals. Hot and cold aqueous extracts in addition to alcohol extracts of Boswellia, Lichen, Coffea peel, Rhatany (Krameria triandra), Cuminum cyminum, Pimpinella anisum , Asafoetida,and Saussurea costus were assessed for their antimicrobial effect against Streptococcus, Escherichia coli Salmonella, klebsiella and Candida albicans by agar well diffusion method. Every single examined plants and herbs indicated antibacterial impact against examined pathogenic microscopic organisms particularly Rhatany, Asafoetida, Lichen, and Pimpinella anisum. The lesser impact was for Coffea peel. Also the most antifungal action against Candida albican swas for Rhatany. For the most part the viable concentrate was the cold aqueous extract for all analyzed plants and herbs.

Nocturnal enuresis is one of the most common chronic problems of childhood. It has a significant effect on health and quality of life of children and their families. Despite pharmacological treatments, enuresis in most children relapses after the medication is discontinued. Also available drugs have many side effects that limited their uses. So, we compared the effect of topical use of Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. (Qost) oil as a Persian Medicine product on pediatric nocturnal enuresis in a parallel randomized double blinded study. Eighty-two patients aged 5 to 15 years who were diagnosed as monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis were allocated to receive costus oil or sesame oil topically below the navel twice a day for 4 weeks. Patients were evaluated prior to and following end of the study in terms of frequency of enuresis and any observed adverse events. The results were evaluated with valid PLUTSS questionnaire. For evaluation, Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests were used. Significant p value was < 0.05. A significant decrease in mean scores of the questionnaires was noted in both groups. The results before and after the intervention were significantly different in both groups, but there was no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups. At the end of the 4th week, the frequency and volume of enuresis showed a 46.2 percent reduction in costus oil group and a 25.5 percent reduction in sesame oil group. According to this study, the response rate based on PLUTSS questionnaire in costus oil group is 74.5%; while in the sesame oil group is 69%. No drug side effect was noticed in this study. Based on the results of this study, costus oil is effective in children with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis; however, there is no significant difference between costus oil and sesame oil.

The specific activity of U-238 and Th-232, as well as K-40 radionuclides, in twenty-nine investigated medicinal herbs used in Egypt has been measured using a high-purity germanium (HP Ge) detector. The measured values ranged from the BDL to 20.71 ± 1.52 with a mean of 7.25 ± 0.54 (Bq kg−1) for uranium-238, from the BDL to 29.35 ± 1.33 with a mean of 7.78 ± 0.633 (Bq kg−1) for thorium-232, and from 172 ± 5.85 to 1181.2 ± 25.5 with a mean of 471.4 ± 11.33 (Bq kg−1) for potassium-40. Individual herbs with the highest activity levels were found to be 20.71 ± 1.52 (Bq kg−1) for uranium-238 (H4, Thyme herb), 29.35 ± 1.33 (Bq kg−1) for thorium-232 (H20, Cinnamon), and 1181.2 ± 25.5 (Bq kg−1) for potassium-40 (H24, Worm-wood). (AACED) Ingestion-related effective doses over the course of a year of uranium-238 and thorium-232, as well as potassium-40 estimated from measured activity concentrations, are 0.002304 ± 0.00009 (minimum), 0.50869 ± 0.0002 (maximum), and 0.0373 ± 0.0004 (average)(mSv/yr). Radium equivalent activity (Raeq), annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE), absorbed gamma dose rate (Doutdoor, Dindoor), gamma representative level index (I), annual effective dose (AEDtotal), external and internal hazard index (Hex, Hin), and excess lifetime cancer risk were determined in medicinal plants (ELCR). The radiological hazards assessment revealed that the investigated plant species have natural radioactivity levels that are well within the internationally recommended limit. This is the first time that the natural radioactivity of therapeutic plants has been measured in Egypt. In addition, no artificial radionuclide (for example, 137Cs) was discovered in any of the samples. Therefore, the current findings are intended to serve as the foundation for establishing a standard safety and guideline for using these therapeutic plants in Egypt. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. PNURSP2022R173 This work was funded by Princess Nourah bint, Abdulrahman University, Research Supporting Project number (PNURSP2022R173) Princess Nourah bint, Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

With the widespread use of traditional medicine around the world, the safety and efficacy of traditional herbal patent medicine have become an increasing concern to the public. However, it is difficult to supervise the authenticity of herbal materials in mixed herbal products according to the current quality standards, especially for traditional herbal patent medicine, with a distinct variance in the dosage of herbal materials. This study utilized the shotgun metabarcoding approach to analyze the biological ingredients of Fuke Desheng Wan (FKDSW), which is an effective traditional herbal product for the treatment of dysmenorrhea. Six herbal materials were collected, and a lab-made mock FKDSW sample was produced to establish a method for the authentication assessment of biological ingredients in traditional herbal patent medicine based on shotgun metabarcoding. Furthermore, four commercial FKDSW samples were collected to verify the practicality of the shotgun metabarcoding approach. Then, a total of 52.16 Gb raw data for 174 million paired-end reads was generated using the Illumina NovaSeq sequencing platform. Meanwhile, 228, 23, and 14 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained for the ITS2, matK, and rbcL regions, respectively, after bioinformatic analysis. Moreover, no differences were evident between the assembly sequences obtained via shotgun metabarcoding and their corresponding reference sequences of the same species obtained via Sanger sequencing, except for part of the ITS2 and matK assembly sequences of Paeonia lactiflora Pall., Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. and Bupleurum chinense DC. with 1–6 different bases. The identification results showed that all six prescribed ingredients were successfully detected and that the non-authentic ingredient of Bupleuri Radix (Chaihu, Bupleurum chinense DC. or Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd.) was found in all the commercial samples, namely Bupleurum falcatum L. Here, 25 weed species representing 16 genera of ten families were detected. Moreover, 26 fungal genera belonging to 17 families were found in both lab-made and commercial FKDSW samples. This study demonstrated that the shotgun metabarcoding approach could overcome the biased PCR amplification and authenticate the biological ingredients of traditional herbal patent medicine with a distinct variance in the dosage of the herbal materials. Therefore, this provides an appropriate evaluation method for improving the safety and efficacy of traditional herbal patent medicine.

For the first time, a human cancer cell line was shown to grow and be functionally active on the particulate porous adsorbent surface of separated sample mixtures. This allowed the novel combination of chromatographic separations with human cells as biological detector. As exemplary screening for cancer treatment drugs, cytotoxic substances were directly discovered in Saussurea costus and ginseng samples using the Cytotox CALUX® osteosarcoma cells (with luciferase expressing reporter gene) as detector. In addition, rosiglitazone and pioglitazone were detected as luminescent zones upon binding to the PPARγ receptor expressed in the respective CALUX cell line that was grown on the surface of the adsorbent. This demonstrates the ability to address receptor-mediated signaling with this method, and opens the perspective to use our novel bioimaging method to identify bioactive molecules targeting a wide range of pathways with toxicological, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical relevance. The new bioimaging directly pointed to individual effective compounds in multi-component mixtures. Furthermore, discovered effective compounds were directly characterized by online elution to high-resolution mass spectrometry and fragmentation.

Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch., (Asteraceae) known in English as Costus, is a threatened Himalayan medicinal plant listed on CITES (2014) Appendix I, Schedule VI of the Wildlife Protection Act (India) 1972, and Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Wild collection of Costus is banned in India and permission is required for its cultivation and marketing. In the past 100 years of cultivation, various policy and management issues have impacted commercialization of the species. In 2015, we conducted surveys in the village of Kanol, Chamoli District, Uttarakhand, India to determine the status of Costus cultivation, problems associated with its marketing and the potential for expanded propagation to enhance local livelihoods. Forty-nine farmers in the study area were cultivating costus and interest in its cultivation had increased in the recent past due to the availability of governmental support. Annually, 1,250–2,950 kg roots (dried) and 20–57 kg seeds from this plant were produced by farmers within the study area. The area under Costus cultivation per farm was fairly constant (0.5 or 0.6 ha.) from 2012 to 2014, and the production of roots per farm ranged from 128 to 156 kg per year. Market prices for dried roots per kg had decreased over time. We found that regional and national marketing of the plant was not a problem for farmers, but export of cultivated products was a major challenge due to existing laws. In addition, local understanding related to post-harvest value addition, and self-reliance in Costus cultivation, was generally poor. Better national policies that increase the prospects for export, and more outreach to local villagers, are needed to improve the conservation and sustainable uses of Costus.

Sixteen sesquiterpenoids (1 – 16), including two new compounds namely saussucostusosides A and B (1 and 2), were isolated from the roots of Saussurea costus by various chromatographic separations. Their structures were elucidated by 1 D and 2 D NMR and HR-QTOF-MS experiments. Among isolated compounds, costunlide (6), 3β-[4-hydroxymethacryloyloxy]-8α-hydroxycostunolide (10) and 11β,13-dihydrozaluzanin C (16) exhibited potent inhibitory effects on LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 cells with IC50 values of 7.08 ± 0.34, 2.40 ± 0.06 and 5.55 ± 0.24 µM, respectively.

A 40-year-old female presented with rapid-onset generalized erythematous eruption with pustules agminated over the flexural areas and the flanks for 2 days. In skin histopathology, extensive subcorneal pustules, spongiosis and neutrophilic exocytosis, papillary dermal edema, and perivascular and interstitial mixed-cell infiltrates were observed. No psoriasis history but irregular intake of numerous kinds of Chinese herbal medications and the last-modified regimen including Radix Aucklandiae 14 days before the onset of pustular eruption were unveiled. Patch test showed positive result with only Radix Aucklandiae. Thus, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis induced by Radix Aucklandiae was diagnosed.

Since ancient times, plant roots have been widely used in traditional medicine for treating various ailments and diseases due to their beneficial effects. A large number of studies have demonstrated that—besides their aromatic properties—their biological activity can often be attributed to volatile constituents. This review provides a comprehensive overview of investigations into the chemical composition of essential oils and volatile components obtained from selected aromatic roots, including Angelica archangelica, Armoracia rusticana, Carlina sp., Chrysopogon zizanioides, Coleus forskohlii, Inula helenium, Sassafras albidum, Saussurea costus, and Valeriana officinalis. Additionally, their most important associated biological impacts are reported, such as anticarcinogenic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, pesticidal, and other miscellaneous properties. Various literature and electronic databases—including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Springer, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Wiley—were screened and data was obtained accordingly. The results indicate the promising properties of root-essential oils and their potential as a source for natural biologically active products for flavor, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and fragrance industries. However, more research is required to further establish the mechanism of action mediating these bioactivities as well as essential oil standardization because the chemical composition often strongly varies depending on external factors.

Saussurea costus had a wide range of antimicrobial activities which used as alternative for synthetic preservatives that threaten human health. This study aimed to identify the bioactive compounds in S. costus extract (SCE) and to evaluate its antimicrobial activity against some pathogenic microorganisms. HPLC and GC-MS were used to quantify the bioactive compounds in SCE. The results indicated that ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts had the highest levels of polyphenols followed by n-butanol, and then n-hexane extracts. The main phenolic compounds are Naringenin, Chlorogenic acid, Ferulic acid, Ellagic acid, Gallic acid and coffeic acid followed by taxifolin, catechin, syringic acid, methyl gallate, vanillin, kaempferol, cinnamic acid and rutin. GC-MS results showed 14 compounds in S. costus extract. The antibacterial activity of S. costus ethanol extract increased by increasing the concentration of extract from 10 µl to 50 µl for each wells .The inhibition zones were 13 mm and 23mm for S. typhi and Staphylococccus aureus, respectively. Gram (+ve) bacteria found to be more sensitive to SCE than Gram (-ve) bacteria. Similarly; the antifungal activity was increased by increasing the concentration of SCE the inhibition zones were 15.5 mm and 22.5 mm for P. verecossum and A. ochraceous, respectively. A. ochraceous appeared to be more sensitive towards all concentration of the extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of SCE for both bacteria and fungi strains ranged from 0.08 - 0.3 mg/ml and 0.25 -1.17 mg/ml, respectively. The results revealed that the SCE can play an important role against the human multi-drug resistant pathogens and can alternate the antibiotics as well as chemical preservatives to control infection and food spoilage contaminants.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Saussurea costus (synonym: Aucklandia lappa Decne) is a medicinal plant distributed in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Sichuan in China. In traditional Korean medicine, the plant parts (especially the root—“radix aucklandiae”) is widely used to treat vomiting, diarrhea, and inflammation. However, little has been reported on its effect on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is common in middle-aged men. Aim of the study BPH is caused by apoptosis imbalance and inflammation due to aging of the prostate. Therefore, the aim of this was to prove the efficacy of S. costus by analyzing its effect on the biological mechanisms leading to BPH progression. Materials and methods Wistar rats were injected subcutaneously with a single dose of testosterone (125 mg/kg) to induce BPH, and were later administered with S. costus (20, 40 mg/kg). After 12 weeks, histological changes in the prostate and hormone regulation factors were assessed in all animals. Furthermore, apoptotic protein and apoptotic body values were analyzed to confirm the improvement of apoptosis imbalance, and inflammatory cytokines were analyzed to confirm the anti-inflammatory efficacy of S. costus. Results In the serum and tissue of S. costus-treated BPH rats, a significant reduction in prostate weight, prostate index, and hormone regulation factors was observed. S. costus also increased the levels of apoptosis marker proteins and reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines. It also decreased the expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) and increased the expression of BCL-2 associated X protein (BAX) in the prostate. Histological changes such as epithelial thickness significantly increased in BPH induced group but significantly decreased in the S. costus-treated groups (p Conclusions S. costus may prevent and treat BPH occurrence by modulating inflammation and apoptosis imbalance.

The health hazardous occurred in both human and animals as a result of the continuous misuse of pesticides drives the researchers for looking about the solution. Natural plant extracts contain active phyto-constituents with antioxidant potency enables them to inhibit production of the free radicals that induce damage of the cells. The present study aimed to reveal efficiency of Saussurea costus (S. costus) extract against the hepato- and neurotoxicity induced by Chloropyrifos ethyl (CPF) in experimental animals (rats). The gas chromatography / mass spectrometer (GC/MS) that used for analyzing the active constituents in S. costus extract showed that the extract contains 11 potent active compounds and Dehydrocostuslactone represents about 77.37% and considered as the most dominant compound in the extract. Both of CPF and S. costus extract were studied on the rats that were divided into 6 groups as the following: Group 1 (control) received distilled water orally. Groups 2&3 (S. costus extract treated groups) received S. costus extract orally at a dose of 0.25 and 0.50 ml, respectively. Group 4 (CPF injected group) was injected with CPF at a dose of 3 mg/kg.bw. Groups 5&6 (CPF + S. costus extract group) injected with CPF then treated with S. costus extract at two tested doses respectively. The most hematological and biochemical measurements declined significantly (P≤0.05) in CPF injected group. S. costus extract restored all tested parameters towards the control values. Moreover, the electrophoretic isoenzyme showed that the physiological alterations occurred in the esterases (ESTs) as a result of CPF injection were represented by hiding normal EST types associated with existence of abnormal ones. Therefore, the similarity index (SI%) and genetic distance (GD%) values were altered with α-EST (SI=80.00%; GD=20.00%) and β-EST (SI=50.00%; GD=50.00%) patterns in CPF injected group. The S. costus extract at a dose of 0.5 ml restored integrity of these isoenzymes pattern by restoring the absent types with hiding the abnormal ones. Therefore, this group became physiologically similar to control group (SI=100.00%; GD=0.00%). These results were supported by histopathological examination for the target organs (brain, liver and kidney) that were affected by CPF and the S. costus extract improved architecture of these organs and restored their histopathological integrity to normal structure.

Dysmenorrhea is known as painful menstruation with considerable effects on women's mental status and quality of life with some limits for treatment. The objective of this prospective case series was to evaluate effects of Saussurea Costus (Qost) oil, an Iranian Traditional Medicine (Persian Medicine) product, on the primary dysmenorrhea. In this case series, 13 patients were included to study and treated with local Qost oil for 6 weeks. The oil was rubbed (without massage) 15 drops every 12 hours to the sub-navel region until pubis. The improvement of dysmenorrhea, evaluated with VAS score based on the last periodic cycle before the study and the last cycle after the completion of the intervention, which continued 6 weeks (at least one period for each patient). Then, 4 weeks after the end of the intervention (equivalent to one period for each patient), the evaluation was performed. The mean VAS score of patients before intervention was 7.77. The score after the end of intervention up to 4 weeks after the end of intervention improved to 1.85. (76.191%). During this study, no side effects were reported in the patients, and no patient was excluded from the study. Due to easiness of use and low invasion of topical treatment, it can be suitable for dysmenorrhea controlling. Upon the beneficial effects of Qost oil on uterine diseases and pains in Persian Medicine sources, usage of that oil in double blinded clinical trial in the subject of dysmenorrhea is suggested.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causing an ongoing pandemic and is considered as a national public health emergency. The signs and symptoms of COVID-19 vary from mild symptoms to a fulminating disease with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multi-organ failure, which may culminate into death with no available vaccines or specific antiviral treatments. God provides us with important medicinal plants. Here I shall shed the light on one of these plants that may help in the treatment of COVID-19 or may even cure it. Saussurea costus (S. costus) is a popular plant with medical importance, the roots of which are widely used for healing purposes throughout human history with great safety and effectiveness. Previous studies revealed the presence of many bioactive phytochemical molecules that has antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-lipid peroxidation, immunostimulant, immunomodulating, analgesic, bronchodilor, hepatoprotective and antihepatotoxic properties. S. Costus has immunomodulatory effects on cytokine release and has complement-inhibitor substances helpful in the treatment of some diseases related to marked activation of the complement system, like respiratory distress.

Background. Apoptosis, a major form of programmed cell death, plays a vital role in regulating tissue development and maintenance of homeostasis in eukaryotes. Apoptosis can occur via a death receptor-dependent extrinsic or a mitochondrial-dependent intrinsic pathway and can be induced by various chemotherapeutic agents. In this study, the anticancer activity of Saussurea costus and its mode of intervention in human cancer cells of breast, colon, and liver were investigated. Results. In this study, the bioactives of S. costus leaves were extensively extracted in five solvents of different polarity. The cytotoxicity and anticancer effect of the extracted secondary metabolites were investigated against breast (MCF-7), liver (HepG2), and colon (HCT116) cancer cell lines using a Sulphorhodamine B (SRB) assay. Secondary metabolites extracted using hexane, methanol, ethyl acetate, and chloroform had the highest cytotoxicity and thus the greatest anticancer effect on all the cancer cell lines tested (IC50; ranging from 0.25 to 2.5 μg/ml), while butanol was comparatively less active (IC50; ranging from 23.2 to 25.5 μg/ml). Further investigation using DNA flow cytometry and fluorescent microscopy revealed that the extract arrested the cells in the G1 phase of cell cycle and induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the elevated expression level of proapoptotic proteins and decreased expression level of antiapoptotic proteins confirmed that the intrinsic (mitochondrial) pathway was involved in mediating the apoptosis of cancer cells upon treatment with S. costus extract. These results altogether suggest that S. costus could be a potential anticancer agent. Conclusion. These results suggest that the S. costus extract is the potential source of the secondary metabolites that could be used as anticancer agent to treat diverse cancers of breast, colon, and liver.

An efficient direct in vitro plant regeneration protocol for Saussurea costus (kuth) was developed using shoot tip explants derived from in vitro grown seedlings to generate genetically uniform plants. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.14 µM thiadiazuron and 2.68 µM naphthalene acetic acid was found to be most optimal for highest for average shoot regeneration (73.33%) with maximum average number of shoots (11.4) and average shoot length (4.17 cm). For in vitro multiplication, shoots cultured on MS medium supplemented with 4.44 µM benzyl adenine, 2.32 µM kinetin and 1.44 µM gibberellic acid were found to grow best with 20.7 average shoot multiplication rate after 5–6 weeks. MS medium supplemented with 2.46 µM indole butyric acid was found to be the best medium for rooting of microshoots (77.78% rooting with 6.0 average number of roots and 3.07 cm average root length). The in vitro raised plantlets were successfully acclimatized under ex vitro conditions. The true to type nature of the in vitro raised plants was confirmed using DNA based ISSR markers for assessment of genetic stability of micropropagated plants. The standardized micropropagation protocol under present study may be tuned towards mass production of roots which are the most economical part of the plant. This would be useful as prerequisite for carrying out any genetic transformation studies while concentrating on any desirable trait in the same herb.

Saussurea, a large genus covering about 400 species and belongs to the flowering plant family Asteraceae. Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. commonly-known as kuth or costus, an imperative herb endemic to the Himalayan region and known to have medicinal utilization. The herbal plant serves as a raw material resource for pharmaceutical industries. The principal components of S. costus are costunolide, dehydrocostus lactone, and cynaropicrin. Costus has been traditionally used in herbal medications with no noticeable adverse effects. The escalating demand, unscientific collection, and vicious harvesting of costus causing elimination and dwindling the plant status in wild. Phytochemical and biological advancement in the past few decades provided evidence for plant to be used as a suitable drug formulation source. The available reviews on costus are relatively restricted to a scope or obsolete. The review intends to recapitulate detailed information on geographic distribution, morphological features, agro-technology, ethnobotany, status, and cultivation history. In addition to these studies, chemical composition, pharmaceutical properties through scientific validation, trade, and conservation challenges of costus are also presented. However, conscientious efforts are needed to explore the potential of costus and validation of its traditional uses through clinical applications.