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ABSTRACT
The search for new drugs from plant sources is a multidisciplinary endeavour involving the examination of traditional medicine, routine biological screening, toxicological evaluation and the development of bioassays. Regulatory requirements are part of the process of drug discovery and drug development.
Tomato plants are vines, initially decumbent, typically growing six feet or more above the ground if supported, although erect bush varieties have been bred, generally three feet tall or shorter. Tomato plants are dicots, and grow as a series of branching stems, with a terminal bud at the tip that does the actual growing. Tomato plant vines are typically pubescent, meaning covered with fine short hairs. These hairs facilitate the vining process, turning into roots wherever the plant is in contact with the ground and moisture, especially if there is some issue with the vine's contact to its original root.
Tomato fruit is classified as a berry. As a true fruit, it develops from the ovary of the plant after fertilization, its flesh comprising the pericarp walls. The fruit contains hollow spaces full of seeds and moisture, called locular cavities. These vary, among cultivated species, according to type. Some smaller varieties have two cavities, globe-shaped varieties typically have three to five, beefsteak tomatoes have a great number of smaller cavities, while paste tomatoes have very few, very small cavities.
Though a very delicious vegetable to consume, tomato plants & seeds very frequently face these unavoidable attacks which hamper its yield to a great extent-
1. Blossom End Rot
2. Yellow Leaves
3. Flowers Form But Drop Before Fruit Develops
4. Shiny, Sticky And Deformed Leaves
5. Tomato Skin Splitting Or Cracking
6. Early Blight - Brown Patches On Leaves
7. Late Blight - Brown, Dry, Papery Leaves
8. Fusarium and Verticillium Wilt
9. Nematodes - The (Almost) Invisible Insect
10. Tomato Hornworm
So, in this project work, I, researched in depth so that the yield of drug from tomato seeds be optimum by overcoming these inevitable challenges. Also I investigated for the anti-oxidant, anti-ageing & anti-diabetic activity of tomato seeds with the intention to add a new dimension to the arena of modern herbal therapy by my sincere efforts.
INTRODUCTION
Plants with medicinal properties have been known for thousands of years. History of medicine goes back to the existence of use of herbal remedies some 60,000 years to a burial site of a Neanderthal man uncovered in 1960.
The current accepted modern medicine or allopathy has gradually developed over the years of scientific & observational efforts of scientists however,the basis of its development remains in the roots of traditional medicine & therapies. The history of medicine includes many ludicrous therapies.
Nevertheless, the ancient wisdom has been the basis of modern medicine & will remain as one important source of future medicine & therapeutics.
The future will be more holistic, personal & involve wise use of ancient & modern therapeutic skills in complementary manner so that maximum benefits can be given to patients & community.
Historical Overview
Natural material including plants, animals, & minerals have been the basis of treatment of human diseases. In the early part of the century, plants were vital sources of raw material of medicines. Greek physician Galen (129-200A.D.) devised the first pharmacopoeia describing the appearance , properties & use of many plants of his time. The foundations of modern pharmaceutical industry were laid when techniques were developed to produce synthetic replacements for many of the medicines that had been derived from the forest. The study of plant components provided large schools of Natural Product Chemistry that began with the work of serturner who first isolated morphine from opium. Review of some of the plant originated from central & south America indicates that most of them either had potentially toxic or poisonous characters or were from food sources.
Following is an example:
In the early 1500’s , India fever bark was one of the first medicinal plants to find appreciative consumers in Europe. Taken from the cinchona tree ( Cinchona officinalis), the bark was used as an infusion by native people of the Andes & Amazon islands to treat fevers.
Further pharmaceutical research took major lead to identification of many key chemical molecules those offered more opportunities to discover novel compounds.