CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for functions including defence again insects, fungi, diseases and herbivorous mammals. The World Health Organization estimates that some 80 percent of the world’s population depends mainly on traditional medicine (Tilburt, 2008) medicinal plants are often tough and fibrous, requiring some form of preparation to make them convenient to administer. Common methods for the preparation of herbal medicines include decoction, powdering and extraction with alcohol in each case yielding a mixture of substance (Dharmananda, 1997) when a drug is identified in a medicinal plant, commercial quantities of the drug may either be synthesized or extracted from plant material (Atanasov, 2015).
TrichostemaLanceolatum or Vinegar weed is one of such plants used for therapeutic purpose. It belongs to the family of Lamiaceae. It grows in chaparral, coastal sage scrubs (Calflora, 2018).
A decoction or tea made from the leaves and flowers of trichostema lanceolatum was taken to treat to colds, stomachaches, headaches, bladder problems and malaria, the tea was gargled to treat inflammation of the throat. Steam from hot infusions was sniffed into the nasal passages to treat colds, coughs, headaches and nose bleeds. Sitting over a steaming decoction of the leaves treated uterine trouble. The raw or boiled leaves were crushed into a poultice to treat wounds (Bocek, 1984). Chewed leaves were stuffed around and aching tooth.
Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorder caused by increase in blood glucose level and defects in insulin resistance, insulin action.