INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Immense benefits have been derived by man from using medicinal herbs in disease management because they are relatively safer, more affordable and sometimes offer better therapeutic values than synthetic drugs (UNESCO, 1998). As more medicinal herbs are being developed, there is the need and demand for scientific scrutiny/examination of their bioactivity and phytochemical components so as to provide data that will help physician and patients make more wise decision before using them. (Doughari et al., 2009). The treatment and management of medical conditions are now done using traditional medicines and it is encouraged by the World Health Organizations (WHO) and this can be attributed to their cost effectiveness, availability and potency against some diseases (Divatar, 2002).
Many traditionally known medicinal plants that has been studied in the past few decades and have been reported to have medicinal properties such as antioxidant activity, anti-hyperlipidaemic effect anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, antifungal and hepato-protective activities (Mahdi et al., 2005). Most of these discoveries were by an accidental consumption and some involved the use of laboratory animals. The plant jathropha tanjorensis is one of those medicinal plant from the family Euphorbiaceae which is a very large family of flowering plants with about 300 genera and 7500 species. Majority of them are herbs, a number of them especially those distributed in the tropics are shrubs and or trees. The word Jatropha originate from the Greek words jatros and trope which means food and nutrition, hence its uses is not limited for food alone but also for medicinal purposes. The common names of Jatropha tanjorensis in Southern Nigeria is; Catholic vegetable or Reverend Father’s vegetable (Omoregie & Osagie, 2012). This is because it is grown in the premises of Catholic Churches as ornaments and fences, it is also called ‘hospital too far’ (Iwalewa et al., 2005). The English name is Chaya leave, it is popular in Mexico and originated in Central America and has been introduced into the United State because of the potential uses as a leavy vegetable and or as a medicinal plant (Kuti et al., 1996). The leave of Jatropha tanjorensis has been shown to have a multiple therapeutic effect which brought about the name cure all. Traditionally the leave has shown to possess some anti-hyperlipidemia effect, of which such claims can be misleading since there is no scientific data to validate their claim, which is why this study was carried out. A good number of the plants on earth have health benefits, but the health benefits of some are yet to be discovered.
Hyperlipidemia is a medical condition characterized by an increase in one or more of the plasma lipids, including triglycerides, cholesterol, cholesterol esters, phospholipids and or plasma lipoproteins including very low-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein along with reduced high-density lipoprotein levels. This elevation of plasma lipids is among the leading risk factors associated with atherosclerosis and related cardiovascular diseases including coronary heart disease cerebral stroke, myocardial infarction and renal failuire. (Ginghina et al., 2011). In the meantime, statins and fibrates remain the major anti-hyperlipidemic agents for the treatment of elevated plasma cholesterol and triglycerides respectively, with the price of severe side effects on the muscles and the liver.

1.2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Hyperlipidemia is a medical condition that is characterized by accumulation of fats also known as lipids in the blood. It is a dangerous health challenge because it causes blood clot to form and if those clot breaks off and travels to the heart it can cause blockage of blood supply to the body thereby leading to high blood pressure which cause heart attack.

1.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
The lack of proper management of hyperlipidemia and the quest for natural based remedies is what inspired this research/investigation of the hypolipidemic effect of Jathropha tanjornsis on experimental animals.

1.4 AIM
To estimate the effect of Jathropha tanjorensis on serum lipid profile of albino wister rats.
To reduce the cost effectiveness/side effects involved in managing highperlipidemia using conventional drugs.

1.5 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
To determine the phytochemical properties of the leave Jathropha tanjornsis.
To measure the lipid level of albino wister rats treated with Jathropha tanjorensis extract.