1.0 INTRODUCTION
Daturastramoniumis an annual herb, with stem erect and spreading branches above. It is common in the waste land, fields and gardens in Baghdad district. Leaves, seeds and roots contain the alkaloid daturine (a mixture of the two alkaloids hyoscyamine and atropine) and also contain scopolamine alkaloid (Hyosine) acids, tannin and fatty oil. Plants are rich source of secondary metabolites with interesting biological activities (Palombo and Semple, 2001; Koduruet al., 2006). Several plant products have been shown to exert a protective role or after ingesting freshly harvested maize that will be used for ensiling and heavily contaminated with young D. stramonium.
Successful extraction is largely dependent on the type of solvent used in the extraction procedure. The most often tested extracts are: water extract as a sample of extract that are primarily used in traditional medicine and extracts from organic solvents such as methanol, ethanol as well as ethyl acetate, acetone, chloroform, dichlorme-thane (Alveset al., 2000; Palombo and Semple, 2001; Uzunet al., 2004; Cos et al., 2006; Ncubeet al., 2008; Stanojevićet al., 2010). Considering the high economical and pharmacological importance of secondary plant metabolites, industries are deeply interested in utilizing plant tissue culture technique for large scale production of these substances.
Man has made use of various parts of plants in the treatment and prevention of various ailments (Shagaletal., 2012). Traditional and folklore medicines play important roles in health services around the globe. About three quarter of the world’s population rely on plants for health care (Premanathanet al., 2000; Gabheet al., 2006).
A World Health Organization survey indicated that about 70-80% of the world’s population rely on nonconventional medicine, mainly of herbal source, in their primary healthcare (WHO, 2007). Most of these herbal remedies have stood the test of time, particularly for the treatment of allergic, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. (Igoliet al., 2005).
The interest in the scientific investigation of medicinal plants from Nigeria is based on the claims of their effective use for the treatment of many diseases. Therefore research into the effects of these local medicinal plants is expected to enhance their use against diseases caused by these microorganisms (Sofowora, 1993, Johnson et al., 2011). The use of medicinal herbs in the treatment and prevention of diseases is attracting scientists’ attention worldwide. This is corroborated by World Health Organization in its quest to bring primary health care to the populace (Falodunet al., 2006, Ameenet al., 2010).
In Nigeria, nearly all plants are associated with some medicinal values. The use of plants especially in traditional medicine is currently well recognized and accepted in Nigerian health care practice (Hassan and Kamba, 2010). Plants usually contain phytochemicals which are active substances technically referred to as drugs, and over the years these drugs have been exploited as traditional medicine for the treatment of various ailments afflicting man (Shagalet al., 2012)