ABSTRACT
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), traditional medicine is defi ned as the sum total of the knowledge, skill and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to diverse cultures used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental ailment (WHO 2013). Approximately, 4000 million people in developing countries have recourse to traditional medicine including phytotherapy (use of plants) and zootherapy (use of animals) on a regular basis (Alzweiri et al. 2011). One reason for this is the fact that despite accessibility of allopathic medicine in these countries, herbal remedies have retained their supremacy, owing to the belief of their long-standing use and less side effects (Alzweiri et al. 2011). Recently, the world has witnessed renewed interest in herbal remedies in both developed and developing countries for the management and/ or treatment of various diseases. It is generally argued that herbal remedies are relatively inexpensive when compared to prescription medications and they may be viewed as cost-effective alternatives to conventional pharmaceutical therapies. Moreover, since they are derived directly from nature they are assumed to be safe. They are also free from the negative stigma attached to many commonly prescribed conventional medicines (Ashar and Dobs 2004). There is a great possibility that medicinal plants may turn out to be much more signifi cant sources of bioactive molecules that has ever been imagined for the development of novel pharmaceuticals (Bougel 2007). Currently, much research is being geared towards phytochemicals owing to their modulation ability towards non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, arthritis, neurodegenerative diseases, and cataract as well as against other infectious diseases amongst others. The underlying reason that has contributed to the reemergence of interest in bioactive phytochemicals is scientifi c proof acquired from well-designed epidemiological,
Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius. * Corresponding author: f.mahomoodally@uom.ac.mu
toxicological and experimental studies conducted during the previous two decades. Investigations that are being carried out on plants are mostly focused towards their prophylactic approach such as antioxidant properties due to their rich fl avonoids content, which is responsible for their free radical scavenging properties (Srivastava and Vankar 2012).
