Costus afer: A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Data in support of Its Medicinal Relevance

Abstract

Costus afer (C. afer) is a plant commonly known as ginger lily, spiral ginger, or bush cane. It is reportedly used in traditional medicine practice (TMP) to treat and manage many ailments including diabetes mellitus, stomach ache, arthritis, inflammation, and gout. These purported ethnomedicinal uses have triggered many research studies on the plant to amass scientific evidence. However, these research reports are scattered, and thus, this systematic review seeks to provide a comprehensive update on it covering its traditional uses, phytochemical and nutritional constituents, pharmacological activities, and toxicological effects. An online search was done using search engines such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect from the period 1970 to 2019. The online search included the use of keywords, “Costus afer Ker-Gawl” or “Costus afer.” The search revealed that the stem and leaves of the plant contain substantial amounts of micronutrients and macronutrients. The leaves, stem, rhizomes, and roots of C. afer contain several steroidal sapogenins, aferosides, dioscin, and paryphyllin C and flavonoid glycoside kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside. Experimental studies on various parts of the plant showed bioactivities such as antihyperglycemic, hepatocellular protection, cardioprotection, nephroprotection, testicular protection, CNS depressant, analgesic, antiarthritis, antibacterial, and antioxidant. Based on these evident data, it is concluded that the plant could be used as an alternative and complementary therapy for many oxidative stress-related diseases, provided further scientific studies on the toxicological and pharmacological aspects are carried out.

Hepatoprotective Effect of Costus Afer on Trace Metal Mixture Treated Rats Mediated by Regulation of Oxidative Stress Markers, Inflammatory Cytokines and Bio-Metal Chelation

“…Hepatotoxicity is usually characterized by increased membrane permeability and changes in enzyme levels. In a hydrocarbon-mediated liver damge, there was a substantial decrease in serum ALP and AST within normal at 400 mg/kg of aqueous leaf extract of Costus afer (ALECA) compared to rat treated with 200 mg/kg of the extract through oral gavage (Ukpabi et al 2012;Boison et al 2019). The stem extract of Costus afer was protective inalcohol-mediated liver damage in rats, suggesting a possible bene t in alcohol liver cirrhosis (Tonkiri et al 2014;Boison et al 2019).…”

“…Previous studies have also shown that aqueous leaf extract of Costus afer (ALECA) may be organoprotective(kidney and testis) in lead-mediated kidney and testis damages via antioxidant mechanisms (Tchamgoue et al 2018, Ezejiofor andOrisakwe, 2019a;Boison et al 2019). As much as various studies have reported on exposure of single heavy studies there remain insu cient information on the heavy metal mixtures which represent the real situation of these toxicants in various environmental matrices.…”

Hepatoprotective Effect of Costus Afer On Trace Metal Mixture Treated Rats Mediated By Regulation of Oxidative Stress Markers, Inflammatory Cytokines And Bio-Metal Chelation

“…Hepatotoxicity is usually characterized by increased membrane permeability and changes in enzyme levels. In a hydrocarbon-mediated liver damge, there was a substantial decrease in serum ALP and AST within normal at 400 mg/kg of aqueous leaf extract of Costus afer (ALECA) compared to rat treated with 200 mg/kg of the extract through oral gavage (Ukpabi et al 2012;Boison et al 2019). The stem extract of Costus afer was protective in alcohol-mediated liver damage in rats, suggesting a possible bene t in alcohol liver cirrhosis (Tonkiri et al 2014;Boison et al 2019).…”

“…Previous studies have also shown that aqueous leaf extract of Costus afer (ALECA) may be organoprotective (kidney and testis) in lead-mediated kidney and testis damages via antioxidant mechanisms (Tchamgoue et al 2018, Ezejiofor andOrisakwe, 2019a;Boison et al 2019). As much as various studies have reported on exposure of single heavy metal studies, there remain insu cient information on the heavy metal mixtures which represent the real situation of these toxicants in various environmental matrices.…”

Low‐dose heavy metal mixture (lead, cadmium and mercury)‐induced testicular injury and protective effect of zinc andCostus aferin wistar albino rats

“…Costus afer is a rhizomatous herb commonly known as ginger lily or bush cane (Okugbo & Oriakhi, 2015). Almost every part of this plant is endowed with medicinal potential in diseases, and a number of research studies have gone into finding the bioactive components of this plant with pharmacological properties to be used in the design of new drugs with lesser side effects (Boison et al., 2019). The phytochemical analysis of different parts of Costus afer in different solvents shows the presence of alkaloids, phenols, saponins, tannins, triterpenes and glycosides (Akpan, Odoemena, Nwachukwu, & Danladi, 2012; Okugbo & Oriakhi, 2015).…”