1.0 Introduction
Phytochemicals are a large group of plant derived compound hypothesized to be responsible for much of the disease protection conferred from diets high in fruits, vegetables, beans, cereals and plant-based beverages such as tea and wine (Hollman, 2005). They are biologically naturally occurring chemical compounds found in plants . They protect plants from disease and damage and contribute to the plants colour, aroma and flavor. They also protect plants from environmental hazards such as pollution, stress, drought, UV exposure and pathogenic attack. These Phytochemicals are known as secondary metabolities.
Recently it is clearly known that phytochemicals have roles in the protection of human health when their dietary intake is significant.
A wide range of dietary Phytochemicals are found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fungi, herbs and spices (Mathai, 2000). it is well known that plants produce these chemicals to protect themselves, but recent research demonstrate that many phytochemicals can also protect humans against diseases (Narasinga, 2003). The most important of these bioactive constituents of plants are alkaloids, tannins, steroids, terpenoids and phenolic compounds. In recent years secondary plant metabolites previously with unknown pharmacological activities have been extensively investigated as a source of medicinal agents. Thus it is anticipated that phyto-antimicrobial efficacy will be used for the treatment of bacterial infection (Balandrin et al., 2005).
Persea Americana is one of the 150 varieties of avocado pear. The seeds of Persea Americana has a diverse application in ethno-medicine, ranging from treatment for diarrhea, dysentery, toothache, intestinal parasites to the area of skin treatment and beautification (Pamplona and Roger, 1999).P. americana leaves have been reported to posses anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities (Adeyemi et al., 2002).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitation of the study and Definition of technical terms.
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