In vitro Establishment of Saussurea costus - An Endangered Medicinal Herb

Abstract

S. costus is a medical plant naturally found at an altitude of 2000 to 3500 m above sea level in the northern Himalayan region. It is one of the 62 species of medical plants present in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). It has various phytochemicals as its constituents; some dominantly present phytochemicals in S. costus are anthraquinones, costunolide, dihydrocostus lactone, etc. S. costus is not only used in the Indian medical system but is also a part of Chinese and Tibetan medical systems it has shown various therapeutic properties such as anti-cancerous activity, anti-ulcerogenic activity, anti-inflammatory activity, etc. It is also used as a component of perfume formulation due to its distinctive aroma. S. costus has been declared as endangered and critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and the Red Data Book (RDB) of India respectively. Several factors contribute to its endangered status including environmental change, over-exploitation, etc. Thus, it becomes crucial to establish a procedure for the in vitro establishment of S. costus because the indigenous methods are not significantly useful due to the long cultivation cycle needed for crop harvesting and also due to the low germination percentage and less seed availability of the plant.