Coustos ignoues

[nitin01jan]

Is any body aware with this plant Coustos ignoues. This plant also known as insulin plant. If any body used it, please sent me feedback. 

[Shikha06]

Saw the n Goa heard people talk abt it's effficasy in diabetes 

[nitin01jan in reply to Shikha06]

Okk it means plant works if people whispered

[Hidden]

I think you mean Costus igneus, aka Costus pictus, Insulin plant and Spiral flag. In Hindi it is called 'keukand'. It contains an insulin like protein (ILP). ILP is structurally different from insulin but it functions the same way as insulin according to researchers. Below are extracts from two reports from PubMed:

"The leaves of Costus igeus reduced the fasting and postprandial blood sugar levels, bringing them towards normal, in dexamethasone-induced hyperglycemia in rats."

"...In a study carried out on the methanolic extract of C. igneus, findings indicated toxicity at 250 mg/kg body weight.... Further, in another investigation, palmitic acid was found to be the major component in the stem, leaf, and rhizome oils of C. pictus.

Palmitic acid is found to induce degeneration of myofibrils in healthy adult rat cardiomyocytes, enhance LDL to HDL cholesterol ratio, and it was found to be the important precursor for the development of coronary heart diseases.

So, the constant use of C. pictus leaves for diabetic treatment may cause serious cardiac diseases, and it is not recommended for the treatment."

note: the above are not clinical trials.  Rats are not humans.  But better safe than sorry for the negative findings may turn out to be valid for humans too.

[avrao]

There are two varieties. Costus pictus D Don  and Costus Igneus and these two plants are known as Insulin leaf plants. One Hyderabad based company dealing with Insulin leaf powder. Interested people can contact : [e-mail] and get the information.

[nitin01jan]

I need to know how to use leaf of this plant