CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Medicinal plants have been of great important to the health of individual and communities. The medicinal value of these plants had some chemical active substances that produce a definite physiological action on the human body. Nature has served as a rich repository of medicinal plants for thousands of years and an impressive number of modern drugs have been isolated from natural sources, notably of plant origin (Cowan, 1999) .Herbal medicine. based on their traditional uses in the form of powders, liquids or mixtures. has been the basis of treatment for various ailments in India since ancient times. The use of herbs as complementary and alternative medicine has increased dramatically in the last 20-25 years (Rios and Recio. 2005). According to World Health Organization (WHO. 2005) traditional medicines was relied upon by 65-80% of the World's population for their primary health care needs.
