Comparative metabolic profiling of Costus speciosus leaves and rhizomes using NMR,GC-MS and UPLC/ESI-MS/MS

Costus speciosus had been used in oriental systems of medicines, to treat diverse ailments. The present study was focused on NMR, GC-MS and UPLC/ESI-MS/MS-based metabolic profiling of C. speciosus. This metabolic study resulted in the identification of 91 and quantification of 69 metabolites. Caffeic acid derivatives previously unreported in C. speciosus were also identified. High quantity of steroidal saponins namely methyl protogracillin (297.97 ± 0.07 mg/g dried wt.) and dioscin (158.72 ± 0.27 mg/g dried wt.) were observed in butanol fraction of rhizomes. Health care metabolites including caffeic acid (37.88 ± 0.04 mg/g dried wt.) and trehalose (75.12 ± 0.08 mg/g dried wt.) were also detected in ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions of rhizomes, respectively. Metabolites of nutraceutical and biological significance including eremanthine (5.14 ± 0.68%, peak area), tocopherols (~22%), sterols (~25%) were also identified from hexane fractions of rhizomes and leaves using GC-MS. The analytical techniques used had successfully differentiated metabolites composition among leaves and rhizomes.     

Determination of Flavonoids in Costus speciosus and Etlingera elatior by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

In this article, a new and relatively simple liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of five flavonoid compounds. Under optimized conditions, the LC-MS analysis can be achieved on a reverse-phase C₁₈ column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.8 µm), with a binary mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid in water and methanol under gradient elution conditions. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the retention times and peak areas for all analytes were in the range of 0.1–0.5% and 3.2–5.2%, respectively. The LODs and LOQs were in the range of 2.1–7.0 ng mL^?1 and 6.9–23 ng mL^?1, respectively. Furthermore, the developed LC-MS method was successfully applied to analyze flavonoids in different parts of two medicinal Zingiberaceae plants (i.e., Costus speciosus and Etlingera elatior) from different sources. The proposed LC-MS method was simple, effective, and reliable, and thus it has potential to be used for the quality control of other medicinal herbs.     

A new oxo-sterol derivative from the rhizomes of Costus speciosus

Chemical investigation of the rhizomes of Costus speciosus led to the isolation of a new compound, 22-ketocholesteryl palmitate (1) along with four known compounds, 24-methylenecycloartanol (2), cycloartanol (3), stigmasterol (4) and linoleic acid (5). The structure of new compound was characterised by extensive 1D-, 2D-NMR and mass spectrometry (GC-MS and HR-ESI-MS) techniques.     

Anti-inflammatory,antioxidant and antiangiogenic activities of diosgenin isolated from traditional medicinal plant,Costus speciosus (Koen ex.Retz.) Sm

Costus speciosus is an important medicinal plant widely used in several indigenous medicinal formulations. The present study was conducted to evaluate the in vitro anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiangiogenic activities of diosgenin isolated from C. speciosus. The diosgenin was isolated from C. speciosus by HPTLC and its biological activities were studied by different protocols. The results demonstrated that LPS stimulated TNF-α generation in RAW 264.7 macrophage culture supernatant up to 3.7-fold of the control and that sample treatment (50 μg/mL) resulted in a highly significant inhibitory effect on LPS-stimulated TNF-α (p < 0.01) in a similar manner to methotrexate inhibitory effect. The tested sample possessed an effective antioxidant scavenging affinity against DPPH radicals as compared with the standard antioxidant activity of vitamin C. The results presented here may suggest that diosgenin isolated from C. speciosus possess anticancer, apoptotic and inhibitory effects on cell proliferation.     

Surfactant-assisted pressurized liquid extraction for determination of flavonoids from Costus speciosus by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), a mode of capillary electrophoresis (CE), is considered an efficient analytical technique allowing for the reduction of organic solvent consumption during the experimental procedure. However, during sample preparation of natural products, the usage of large amount of organic solvent is generally unavoidable. In this article, therefore, a fast, simple, efficient, highly automatic and organic solvent-free sample preparation method, namely surfactant-assisted pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), was developed for the extraction of flavonoids in Costus speciosus flowers before MEKC analysis. The various experimental parameters such as the type and concentration of surfactant, and extraction time were evaluated systematically. Under the optimized conditions, the extraction efficiencies of surfactant-assisted PLE methods were comparable with Soxhlet extraction using organic solvent. The combination of surfactant-assisted PLE and MEKC was shown to be a green, rapid and effective approach for extraction and analysis of flavonoids in C. speciosus flowers.     

Nanoparticles of Costus speciosus Ameliorate Diabetes-Induced Structural Changes in Rat Prostate through Mediating the Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines IL 6, IL1β and TNF-α

Diabetes mellitus is a common global health problem. Among the complications that are frequently associated with DM are the alternation of sexual function and fertility, especially in young men. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of nanoparticles of Costus speciosus (C. speciosus) in preserving the prostatic structure of diabetic rats and to explore the mechanism behind this effect. A model of DM was induced in male albino rats by a single intraperitoneally injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 60 mg/kg body weight). Five groups (n = 10 each) of rats were included in this study: the control, C. speciosus gold nanoparticles-treated (150 mg/kg body weight through gastric intubation for 30 days), untreated diabetic, metformin-treated diabetic (500 mg/kg/day gastric intubation for 30 days) and the C. speciosus-treated diabetic group. The blood glucose, insulin and testosterone levels as well as oxidants/antioxidants status were assessed in the serum. Gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL1β and IL-6 were assessed in the prostate homogenate. At the end of the experiment, the rats were sacrificed and the prostate was dissected out and prepared for histopathological and immunohistochemistry study using Ki67 and Bcl-2. C. Speciosus nanoparticles significantly decreased (p = 0.03) the blood glucose level while significantly increasing insulin (p = 0.01) and testosterone (p = 0.04) levels compared to the untreated diabetic rats. Oxidants/antioxidants status was markedly improved after administration of C. speciosus. Prostatic expression of the mRNA of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL1β and TNF-α was down-regulated in metformin- and C. speciosus-treated rats. The histological structure of the ventral prostate was preserved in metformin- and C. speciosus-treated diabetic rats with a significantly thicker epithelial cell layer and significant increase immunoexpression in Bcl-2 and Ki67. In conclusion, the protective effect induced by C. speciosus nanoparticles on the prostate of diabetic rats might be directly mediated through the down-regulation of inflammatory cytokines and the up-regulation of antioxidant activity and indirectly mediated through the anti-hyperglycemic effect through enhancing insulin secretion.