Saussurea Lappa

Botanical Name : Saussurea lappa
Sanskrit Name : Kushtha               
English Name : Costus             
Family : Asteraceae                       
Part used: Roots

Saussurea Lappa are perennial herbaceous plants, ranging in height from dwarf alpine species 5-10 cm tall, to tall thistle-like plants up to 3 m tall. The leaves are produced in a dense basal rosette, and then spirally up the flowering stem. The flowers form in a dense head of small capitula, often completely surrounded in dense white to purple woolly hairs; the individual florets are also white to purple. The wool is densest in the high altitude species, and aid in thermoregulation of the flowers, minimising frost damage at night, and also preventing ultraviolet light damage from the intense high altitude sunlight.

The roots are bitter, acrid, sweet, thermogenic, aromatic, deodorant, aphrodisiac, anodyne, carminative, digestive, stomachic, diaphoretic, stimulant, alternate, depurative, galatagogue, diuretic, disinfectant, antibacterial, antispasmodic, expectorant, febrifuge, skin stimulant and tonic.

Roots are useful in chronic and foul ulcers, cough, asthma, bronchitis, flatulence, cholera, leprosy, leucoderma, jaundice, liver problems, skin diseases, ringworm, diarrhea, dysentery, fever, hiccough, hysteria, cardiac disorder, gout, and general debility.

Aromatic roots are also used in obtaining essential oil, which is used in perfumeries, incenses, and in hair tonic. Oil from the root is very beneficial in the treatment of rheumatism. It is used in the treatment of swelling and fullness of the stomach