''Dolomiaea costus'', formerly known as ''Saussurea costus'', commonly known as costus, Indian costus, kuth, or putchuk, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. T ...
in the
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''
Dolomiaea'' native to
South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Rishi (Hindu) mystics of Kashmir especially ate this plant.
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...
s extracted from the root have been used in
traditional medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...
and in
perfume
Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...
s since ancient times.
Costus is the root of this plant. The root of the plant is the key part used for medicinal or
homeopathic
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance tha ...
purposes.
[Davidson, Tish. "Aucklandia." ''The Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine'', edited by Laurie J. Fundukian, 4th ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2014, pp. 197-198. ''Gale Virtual Reference Library'', Accessed 20 Nov. 2017.] The root is also called by its
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
name ''radix aucklandiae'' (root of aucklandia).
It has a large number of names in other languages, including ''kuṣṭha'' in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
; ''kust'' or ''qust'' in
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
; ''kut'', ''kur'', and ''pachak'' in
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
and
Bengali, ''kostum'', ''gostham'', and ''potchuk'' in
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
; ''upaleta'' and ''kur'' in
Gujarati; ''kot'' or ''kust'' in
Punjabi; ''changala'' in
Telugu; ''sepuddy'' in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
; ''kostha'' in
Kannada
Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
; ''kuth'' or ''postkhai'' in
Kashmiri; and ''kosht'' (קשט) in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
; ''koto'' in
Swahili; ''mu xiang'' in
Chinese.
Description
''Dolomiaea costus'' is a perennial plant with a typical growth of tall and wide. It has long lyrate leaves and heads of purple florets.[ The leaves take the shape of being auricled at base, with jagged, toothed patterns running down the sides of the leaves and are an average of long. The roots of the plant are stout and can travel up to in length.
]
Habitat
It is usually found at elevations of asl in India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
; including the Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
, Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
, Jammu
Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...
, Western Ghats, and the Kishenganga Valley. Its typical flowering season spans from July to August, with the seeds ripening from August to September. The plant can be grown in a wide variety of soils, ranging from light sandy, medium to heavy clay soils that are acid, neutral or basic, alkaline soils, preferring soils that are moist. The amount of sunlight the plant thrives upon can vary from semi-shaded (light woodland) areas or areas with no shade.
Cultivation
The plant is cultivated as a medicinal plant. Its growing region occurs mainly within India-Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir- its native place of origin.[Saha, D., Ved, D., Ravikumar, K. & Haridasan, K. 2015. ''Saussurea costus''. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T50126641A50131430] A study by Parmaret. al. 2012 explored the effect of altitude on seed germination and survival percentage, proving that high altitudes favoured high survival and seed germination percentages.[N. Kumar, A. KumarDurlabh hoti chamatkaric aushadhi-Kuth Sachitra Ayurveda, 1 (1989), pp. 25-29] This is why they thrive so abundantly in the Himalayan Region which is very mountainous. Cultivation is primarily focused upon the roots of the plants. Most of the roots are exported to China and Japan and as they serve as a big commodity for commerce in Kashmir. However, this type of trade is now being controlled by the state due to it being over-exploited. This plant has been greatly over-collected and has been placed on Appendix I of CITES.[Lipsch. ''Saussurea Costus'' . Plants for a Future , 2012, www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Saussurea+costus.]
Uses
Spice
As a spice, Pliny described it as having a "burning taste and an exquisite scent", but being "otherwise useless".
Ancient Judaism
The root of ''Dolomiaea costus'' is mentioned in rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
nical writings as ''kosht'' (), reflecting its arrowhead
An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling.
...
shape. It was used in the ketoret, the consecrated incense
Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...
described in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
. '' Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
. It was offered on a specialized incense altar in the Tabernacle
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...
, and in the First and Second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
Jerusalem Temples. The Ketoret was an important component of the Temple service in Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
.
Ancient Rome
Known in Greek as ''kostos'' or ''kostarin'' and in Latin as ''costum'', it was used as a spice in classical Rome and Byzantinium, when it was used to flavor wine.
Britain
Costus was used as a spice in medieval England, for example as an ingredient in a greensauce described by Alexander Neckam
Alexander Neckam (8 September 115731 March 1217) was an English poet, theologian, and writer. He was an abbot of Cirencester Abbey from 1213 until his death.
Early life
Born on 8 September 1157 in St Albans, Alexander shared his birthday with ...
in the 12th century.
Islam
It was recommended by Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
in "Sahih hadith". "Treat with the Indian incense, for it has healing for seven diseases; it is to be sniffed by one having throat trouble, and to be put into one side of the mouth of one suffering from pleurisy.".
China
In traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...
, the root is one of the 50 fundamental herbs. It has the name (, meaning "wood aroma").[ It is found in the popular digestive remedy Po Chai pills and is also used as incense.]
India
In Ayurveda
Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...
, the name ''kushta'' refers to an ancient Vedic plant god mentioned in the Atharvaveda as a remedy for ''takman'', the archetypal disease of excess or jvara (fever).[ In ancient India, kushta was considered to be a divine plant derived from heavenly sources, growing high in the ]Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
, considered to be the brother of the divine Soma.[ In Ayurveda, kushta is a ]rasayana
In early ayurvedic medicine, ''rasāyana'' (Pali and Sanskrit: रसायन, "path of essence") is one of the eight areas of medicine in Sanskrit literature.
The 11th-century Persian scholar Abū Rayhān Bīrūnī noted an Indian science ...
for Vata, considered to normalize and strengthen digestion, cleanse the body of toxic accumulations, enhance fertility, and reduce pain.[ Its dried powder is the principal ingredient in an ointment for ulcers; it is also a hair wash.][
Costus rhizome is used for curing woolen cloth in hill area of ]Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
.
Other common uses
An essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...
obtained from the roots is used in perfumery, incenses, and in hair rinses. It has a strong lingering scent that has the scent of violets at first, yet changes to a more unpleasant goat-like smell as it ages. The common form of the roots can be either found as an essential oil, a ground powder, or as a dried stick. Another use for the plant is within incense sticks. These sticks can be created from these roots by grinding the roots into a powder and then forming the stick structure. As well, the dried sticks are commonly found cut up into thin slices to be used as lightings for shrines or as tonics for hot baths.
Trade
The species was determined "readily available" in the markets of Calcutta, Delhi, Mumbai, Amritsar, and Haridwar by a survey conducted by TRAFFIC India in 1997 and is considered one of the most common medicinal plants traded in Delhi. ''S. costus'' is so readily available and abundant that very large quantities can be procured on demand within markets and stores with their main customers being large and small pharmaceutical companies. According to CITES trade data, China and India are the main exporters of the product itself with Hong Kong following close behind as a noted re-exporter. China was the first documented trader of ''S. costus'', with trade records dating back to 1981 and 1982. ''S. costus'' is the only Appendix I species which is significantly traded internationally for medicinal purposes. The species was included in Appendix II as early as 1975 and increased list placement in Appendix I with effect.[Schippmann, Uwe. ''Medicinal Plants Significant Trade Study'' . German CITES Scientific Authority: German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, 2001, ''Medicinal Plants Significant Trade Study''.]
Plant endangerment
''S. costus'' is one of the most threatened medicinal plants of Kashmir Himalaya. This species is threatened due to the unregulated collection, over-exploitation, illegal trade, and loss of habitat. Habitat loss continues due to road construction and military establishments in many of the cultivation areas, decreasing its yield globally. Habitat destruction in the form of recreational activities and urbanization is as well limiting its ability to be cultivated, again decreasing global yield of this product. Another influence heavily affecting the survival rate of this species is the uncontrolled grazing of yak. The biggest threat, however, comes from the usage of the plant for its medicinal properties. It is listed as “endangered” by the Red data book of Indian plants. In another study, a camp workshop held in Lucknow assessed the plant as "Critically Endangered new" nationally in India, holding a population decline of 70% in the last 10 years.[Molur and Walker 1998] Another CAMP workshop for northern India assessed it as "Critically Endangered new" in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Conservation efforts do exist to control the rate of depletion of the species. The legislations of Jammu and Kashmir have enforced a special Act, The Kuth Act, in 1978 for the regulation of trade of ''S. costus''.
See also
* List of lyrate plants
References
External links
*Genus ''Saussurea'' phytochemical and pharmacological: Yang J.L. Wang R. Liu L.L. Shi Y.P. "Phytochemicals and biological activities of Saussurea species. eview 53 refs''Journal of Asian Natural Products Research''. 12(2):162-75, 2010 Feb.
*
* Contains a detailed monograph on ''Saussurea lappa'' (Kushta) as well as a discussion of health benefits and usage in clinical practice. Available online a
Todd Caldecott , Kushta
{{Taxonbar, from2=Q1661525, from1=Q106903401, from3=Q24850280
costus
Medicinal plants
Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine
Spices
Incense material