Project Materials

THE EFFECT OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF ACANTHUS MONTANUS ON FASTING BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS OF ADULT WISTAR RATS

1.1 Background Of The Study

In order to produce fruits and seeds, plants typically have roots, stems, and leaves. The earth’s surface is naturally home to plants (Akpanabiatu et al., 2005).

Preventing and curing illnesses has presented a number of difficulties for humans. It’s possible that human trial and error led to the discovery of some plant species’ effectiveness in herbal treatments (Hostettmann et al., 2000).

However, this has led to a difference in how certain related and unrelated human communities around the world address illnesses. It is impossible to overstate the significance of medicinal plants and their functions in the natural world (Shirwakar et al., 2006).

The majority of plants are edible and include varying amounts of vitamins, protein, carbs, and other nutrients that aid in the body’s ability to digest food, repair damaged cells or tissues, and fight off illnesses, among other health difficulties.

Some contemporary practitioners’ phytochemical analyses of certain plant species have produced results that are consistent with previously published traditional medical knowledge in some situations, but in others, they have completely diverged, raising questions about the efficacy of herbal remedies.

Since the beginning of time, humans have struggled to eradicate diseases entirely, a problem that has not been resolved by inheritance. As a result, people of all ages have adopted various strategies to help prevent illnesses, but from the beginning to the present, plants have consistently been one of the most successful primary strategies for this purpose (Porter, 1997).

In the traditional ethno-medicinal system, a variety of medicinal plants are continuously used for therapeutic reasons to treat illnesses. Because they give the body essential nutrients, plants have the fundamental capacity to fight disease and preserve good health (Coskum et al., 2005).

According to scientific research, plants can treat illnesses by either attacking the causing organisms or by supplying the body with nutrients that it may be lacking. Conversely, various plant species fulfil distinct ecological niches, which have been utilised by ancient people to counteract human diseases.

Since the beginning of time, people have utilised plants to treat illnesses and soothe bodily pain (Mbagwu, 2009). The presence of certain chemicals (active ingredients) that cause a specific physiological action in the human body gives drug plants their medicinal value (Mbagwu, 2009).