TO EXAMINE THE EXTRACTS (LEAF, STEM AND ROOTS) OF ALSTONIA BOONEI ON THE ALLOXAN-INDUCED DIABETIC MELLITUS
abstract
Many cultures still use native medicinal plants as their main source of healthcare throughout the world (Farnsworth et al., 1985). Up to this point, 25% of modern medicines have been derived from plants used by traditional healers (Cragg et al., 2005). Traditional medical practices have undoubtedly gained international attention. Despite the availability of modern medicine in many developed nations, people continue to use complementary or alternative therapies, such as medicinal herbs. However, only a small number of plant species that produce medicinal herbs have been thoroughly studied in terms of potential medical applications. Even fewer herbs, their extracts, active ingredients, and the preparations containing them have safety and efficacy data available. Africa’s tropical and subtropical regions are home to Out of the 40–45,000 plant species that have the potential to develop, 5,000 species are used medicinally (Van Wyk, 2008). However, there is a paradox: only 83 of the 1100 traditional drugs used worldwide have come from the African continent, despite its enormous potential and diversity (Van Wyk, 2008). Traditional medicine is currently valued more for its ability to produce other medicines than for its own sake in African nations. Research projects and the commercial applications resulting from those projects frequently rely on data provided by the local communities and, in many cases, have hardly benefited from the research findings (Rukangira, 2004). Traditional African healers and plant-based remedies are crucial to the continent’s health. millions of people’s wellbeing. Indicative statistics include the proportions of university-trained physicians to the general population in African nations. For instance, in Ghana’s Kwahu district, there are 224 people for every traditional healer, versus nearly 21,000 for every university-trained physician (Rukangira, 2004).
1.2JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY
Since the discovery that plant extracts not only contain minerals and primary metabolites but also a wide variety of secondary metabolites with antioxidant potential, the medicinal value of plants has taken on a more significant dimension. Free radicals have been linked to the pathogenesis of numerous diseases, including atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and the aging process. Antioxidant compounds thwart their effects (Aruoma, 2003; Dasgu- pta and De, 2004; Coruh et al., 2007).
Studies on medicinal plants like Alstonia boonei have typically concentrated on ethnobotany, pharmacology, taxonomy, and the bioactivity of their chemical components.
1.3AIM
to assess a few biological parameters in rabbits treated with Alstonia boonei extracts after being made diabetic by alloxan.