Medicinal and Socio-Cultural Importance of Costus Afer (Ker Grawl) in Nigeria

Abstract

Medicinal plants play a great role in human life and have substances that are
used for traditional therapeutic and modern drug production purposes in
primary health care delivery. Costus afer as a medicinal plant is commonly
used for traditional therapeutic and other socio cultural purposes such as
wrapping of indigenous food items, mat making, feed to small ruminants,
treatment of cough, measles, malaria, eye defects, hunch back and evil
repellants. The major constituents of C. afer for modern drug production are
steroidal sapogenins, saponins aferosides A-C and dioscin.