Costus

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• Costus

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Saussurea costus
• Theodorea costus
• Aucklandia lappa
• Saussurea lappa
• Aucklandia costus
• Aplotaxis lappa

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and the phylum Streptophyta, falling under the class Equisetopsida and subclass Magnoliidae. It is further classified within the order Asterales and the family Asteraceae. Finally, it is identified by its genus, Dolomiaea, specifically as the species Dolomiaea costus.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a broad geographical distribution across various regions of China. It can be found growing in the South-Central areas of the country. Additionally, its presence extends to the tropical landscapes of Hainan. The species is also documented within the northern territories of Inner Mongolia and Manchuria. Finally, it inhabits the North-Central parts of China, completing its diverse range.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Ecology

The ecology of Dolomiaea costus is defined by a highly specialized niche, as it is strictly constrained to a specific altitudinal band within its natural habitat. This species exhibits a very narrow elevational range, occurring exclusively at an altitude of 2100 m AMSL. Because its minimum and maximum elevation thresholds both converge at 2100 m AMSL, the plant occupies a precise ecological zone, suggesting a high degree of sensitivity to the varying climatic conditions, such as temperature gradients, atmospheric pressure, and moisture availability, that shift with increasing altitude. This extreme specialization implies that the species is adapted to the specific environmental parameters found only at this precise level, making its distribution highly fragmented and dependent on the stability of its unique montane microclimate.

Elevational range max:

2100 m AMSL

Life history

The life history of Dolomiaea costus is characterized by its status as a perennial plant, allowing it to persist in its natural habitat through multiple growing seasons. As a perennial species, it does not complete its life cycle in a single year like annuals or two years like biennials; instead, it maintains a continuous presence in the ecosystem, often developing robust rhizomatous structures that facilitate long-term survival and vegetative spread. This perennial nature enables the plant to establish deep root systems that store essential nutrients, providing the resilience necessary to endure seasonal fluctuations and regenerate each year. Through this extended lifecycle, the plant can invest significant energy into its complex reproductive structures, ensuring a stable and enduring presence within its specific ecological niche.

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Dolomiaea costus is characterized by a growth form categorized as a herb and a forb, exhibiting a non-woody structure throughout its development. Although it possesses a robust presence, it does not develop woody tissue, maintaining a fleshy or herbaceous consistency. In terms of its climbing habits, the plant functions as a self-supporting entity, displaying characteristics of both a liana and a vine, while its climbing mechanism is classified as self-supporting rather than being an obligatory or facultative climber that requires external structures for stability.

Climber :

self-supporting

Growth form :

herb

Growth form :

forb

Woodiness :

non-woody

Reproduction

The reproduction of Dolomiaea costus involves the development of specialized fruiting structures that are remarkably consistent in their morphology. The fruit produced by this species is characterized by a highly uniform size, exhibiting no significant variation between individual specimens. Specifically, the fruit length maintains a constant value across all measured parameters, with a minimum length of 0.8 cm, a mean length of 0.8 cm, and a maximum length of 0.8 cm. This lack of variance in the fruit length suggests a highly stabilized reproductive mechanism within the species' developmental cycle.

Fruit length max:

0.8 cm

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Dolomiaea costus has 5 reported plant parts identified across 27 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include root, leaf, flower, rhizome, seed.

Root

1. Food chemistry
2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
3. Environmental toxicology
4. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
5. Saudi journal of biological sciences

Leaf

1. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Saudi journal of biological sciences
3. Chinese journal of natural medicines
4. International journal of biological macromolecules
5. Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology

Flower

1. Saudi journal of biological sciences

Rhizome

1. Natural product research

Seed

1. Saudi journal of biological sciences

Chemicals

Dolomiaea costus has 104 reported phytochemicals identified across 27 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include Costunolide, Dehydrocostus lactone, Flavonoids, Alantolactone, CHLOROGENIC ACID.

Costunolide

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of Asian natural products research
3. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Bioorganic chemistry
5. Journal of natural products

Dehydrocostus lactone

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of Asian natural products research
3. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Bioorganic chemistry
5. European journal of pharmacology

Flavonoids

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology
2. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology
3. BMC complementary medicine and therapies
4. Ultrasonics sonochemistry
5. Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology

Alantolactone

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology
2. Phytotherapy research : PTR
3. Natural product research

CHLOROGENIC ACID

1. Acta pharmaceutica (Zagreb, Croatia)
2. Ultrasonics sonochemistry
3. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Cynaropicrin

1. Computers in biology and medicine
2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
3. Planta medica

Sesquiterpenes

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology
2. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology
3. Ultrasonics sonochemistry

dehydrocostuslactone

1. Journal of natural products
2. Zhong yao cai = Zhongyaocai = Journal of Chinese medicinal materials
3. Phytotherapy research : PTR

ALPHA-IONONE

1. Dr. Duke
2. Zhong yao cai = Zhongyaocai = Journal of Chinese medicinal materials

ALPHA-PHELLANDRENE

1. Dr. Duke
2. Zhong yao cai = Zhongyaocai = Journal of Chinese medicinal materials

Activities

Dolomiaea costus has 199 reported activities identified across 27 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Anticancer, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, Cytotoxic, Hepatoprotective.

Anticancer

1. Dr. Duke
2. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Heliyon
4. Journal of ethnopharmacology
5. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Antioxidant

1. Dr. Duke
2. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
3. Heliyon
4. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)
5. Journal of experimental pharmacology

Antimicrobial

1. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)
2. Heliyon
3. Journal of experimental pharmacology
4. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)
5. RSC advances

Cytotoxic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Saudi journal of biological sciences
3. Journal of natural products
4. Immunopharmacology and immunotoxicology

Hepatoprotective

1. Dr. Duke
2. Journal of ethnopharmacology
3. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
4. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology

Antidiabetic

1. Dr. Duke
2. International journal of pharmaceutics
3. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Antiviral

1. Dr. Duke
2. Computers in biology and medicine
3. Heliyon

Anthelmintic

1. Dr. Duke
2. Acta parasitologica

Antiinflammatory

1. Dr. Duke
2. Phytotherapy research : PTR

Antiulcer

1. Dr. Duke
2. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Conditions

Dolomiaea costus has 4 reported investigations on conditions identified across 27 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported conditions include antidiabetic, antiseptic, aphrodisiac, expectorant.

Antidiabetic

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Antiseptic

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Aphrodisiac

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Expectorant

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Preparations

Dolomiaea costus has 36 reported preparations identified across 27 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported preparations include KM1608, extracts, root extract, 70% ethanol extract, Ethanolic Extract.

Km1608

1. Biomolecules
2. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Extracts

1. Fitoterapia
2. Scientific reports

Root extract

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology
2. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)

70% ethanol extract

1. BMC complementary medicine and therapies

Ethanolic extract

1. Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)

Ethanolic extract

1. Journal of ethnopharmacology

Organic extracts

1. Environmental and molecular mutagenesis

S. costus extracts

1. RSC advances

Acetic acid extract

1. Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

Aqueous leaf extract

1. Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)