MORPHOLOGY, ANATOMY AND HISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON COSTUS IGENUS NAK. (INSULIN PLANT)

Costus igenus Nak. plant belongs to family Costaceae is commonly known as Insulin Plant. This plant was introduced in India few years back from South Central America as an ornamental plant in Kerala but because of its medicinal properties now a days it becomes popular anti diabetic drug plant in India used to manage diabetes . The leaves may be eaten raw or may be taken in powdered form as medicine dose. The medicinal property in the leaf is due to presence of phytochemicals like Alkaloids, Steroids, Flavonoids, Tanins and Saponins. Current paper deals with Morphology, Anatomy and Histochemical studies of leaves of C.igenus Nak plant which will help in identification of original fresh plant and powdered leaf material and check the adultration and to guide future research.