Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

In modern medicines, plants occupy a very important place as the raw material for some important drugs. Synthetic drugs are effective in controlling different diseases but these synthetic drugs are out of reach of millions of people. It is estimated that around 70,000 plant species have been used for medicinal purposes. The herbs provide the starting material for the synthesis of conventional drugs. (Kumal & Malhotra, 2010) Medicinal plants have curative actions due to the presence of complex chemical constituents.

Today, lots of health problems are escalating. One of these is coagulation problems. A normal platelet count in a healthy individual is between 150,000 and 450,000 per μl (microlitre) of blood (150–450 x 109/L). Ninety-five percent of healthy people will have platelet counts in this range. Some will have statistically abnormal platelet counts while having no demonstrable abnormality. However, if it is either very low or very high, the likelihood of an abnormality being present is higher.

Some diseases or disorders in the platelet count in the blood are the Thrombocytosis where the presence of platelets in blood is high and Thrombocytopenia where platelets count in blood is low.

In this case, a new way to develop platelets is needed. The researchers wanted to test the effectivity of tawa-tawa plant (Euphorbia hirta) treated with Riboflavin in the development of blood platelets. Euphorbia hirta is often used traditionally for female disorders, respiratory ailments (cough, coryza, bronchitis, and asthma), and worm infestations in children, dysentery, jaundice, pimples, gonorrhea, digestive problems, and tumors. It is reported to contain alkanes, triterpenes, phytosterols, tannins, polyphenols, and flavanoids.

Background of the study Platelets are important