Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the presence of saponins and sterols, contains aliphatic hydroxyl ketones, benzoquinones, and
α-tocopherolquinone.
334
Pharmacological Studies —
Extracts of the aerial parts and rhizome have been shown to pos-
sess anti-inflammatory activity.
335
An extract of
C. lucanusianus
exhibits uterine-relaxant activ-
it y.
331
The root oil from
Costus
causes contact dermatitis, and sensitivity to the oil is employed as a
diagnostic agent for examining delayed cell-mediated immune system reactions.
336
In lung cancer
patients, it was found that the incidence of positive reactions to
Costus
root oil decreased with
the progress of the cancer. The percentage of lung cancer patients who survived was significantly
greater for positive than negative patients.
336
It has also been established that patients with localized
cancer showed no impairment of sensitivity to
Costus
root oil.
337
The oil has also been shown to
inhibit the growth of transplanted tumors in sensitized BALB/c mice.
339
The
Costus
oil sensitivity
is believed to be due to several sesquiterpenes found in the plant. An analysis of cross-reactions in
Costus
-sensitive patients has revealed that the most active sesquiterpene lactones are the ones with
fewer oxygenated substituents close to the α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone ring.
341
The antifungal activity of
C. speciosus
has been shown to be due to the presence of a methyl
ester of p-courmaric acid.
341
The methanolic extract exhibited a biphasic activity and antihypergly-
cemic activity.
482
At 200 mg/kg body weight p.o., it decreased the blood glucose level by 50% in
streptozotocin (STZ)-induced hyperglycemia in male rats in 60 min post dosing. However, doses
above 200 mg/kg body weight p.o. caused an increase in blood glucose level, potentiating the action
of STZ. At 10 g/ml, the extract induced about 98% glucose uptake in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipo-
cytes when compared with insulin (340 nm). The extract also induced expulsion of whole fetuses
still enveloped within the placental membrane at the third trimester of pregnancy in rats.
486
CRESCENTIA CUJETE
Botanical Name —
Crescentia cujete
L.
Synonyms —
C. cuneifolia
Gardner,
C. fasciculata
Miers,
C. acuminata
Kunth.,
C. arborea
Raf.,
C. plectantha
Miers,
C. pumila
Raf.,
C. spathulata
Miers
Family —
Bignoniaceae
Common Names —
Calabash tree, gourd tree
African Names —
Igbo: oba; Yoruba: igisogba
Description —
The plant is a small, low-branching tree 10 m high and up to 0.5 m in girth. The
leaves are simple, about 18 cm long and wide, shaped almost like a spatula with the top occasionally
pointed. They are arranged in clusters around the stem. The flowers are tubular, variegated, with
green, red, purple, and yellow colors, delicately fringed with red stripes. It produces large green
