**1. Introduction**

The use of contraception is an aged long practice and historically, humans have used their imaginations [1] such as coitus interruptus to prevent pregnancy. Evidence revealed that birth control practices are well documented in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia [2]. The Ebers papyrus from 1550 BC and the Kahun Gynecological papyrus from 1850Bc have some of the earliest methods of birth control. It documented the use of honey acacia leaves and placement of lint on the vagina of women to block spermatozoa penetration into the female genital tract [2].

One of the most effective antifertility herbs in ancient times that was most famous for birth control was the use of silphium plant, which is a native of Cyrene in modernday Libya, North Africa. This plant was used as a contraception in ancient Greece and Rome and became extinct as a result of over-cultivation of the plant for contraception [3]. In ancient Greece, several plants are used as contraception, including Asatoetidua, a close relative of the extinct silphium plant. Recent evidence shows that the surviving relatives of the silphium plants exhibit anti-fertility potency in rats [3].

In India, Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) which is a native to Asia, Europe, and North Africa, is commonly used for birth control up to date [3].

Based on the toxic nature of most ancient contraceptives, there was a need to develop more effective and safe forms of contraception. This resulted in a series of inventions such as the male condom in 1564, which was originally developed to address sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis in Europe [4] and the first modern female condom was released in 1993. Hormonal pills as means of contraceptive in the form of Enovid were first approved by the FDA in May 1960 [5].

Despite the safety effectiveness and benefits of these methods of contraceptive, the use in most low and middle countries continue to be low despite the availability of these contraceptive methods.
