**1. Introduction**

Plants are nature's source of food. Aside from the enormous benefits we derived from plants including shelter and protection, plants are the center of what heals us. Medicinal plants have been with us since the time of our ancestors. Earlier men utilized plants preparations to remedy diseases. They employed archaic means together with instincts, beliefs, observation, taste, and experience to categorized plants as remedies and poisons [1]. Today, the role of medicinal plants as remedies has extended beyond the ways of ancient men. The role of medicinal plants as remedies now hinges extensively on the chemistry of the plant. Based on scientific research, plants are now screened and tested [2]. Phytochemist talks of two groups of compounds in plants. These are the primary plant metabolites and secondary plant metabolites. The primary plant metabolites perform basic life functions and the secondary plant metabolites classify compounds that are important in other aspects such as the

ability to destroy or prevent the growth of certain causative agents of diseases [3–5]. The goal of scientists in the field of medicinal plants is to find which plant compound has potency against which causative agents of diseases. Many compounds have proven efficacy in treating many diseases. Some of these compounds serve as stepping stones in the synthesis of synthetic and variants of semi-synthetic compounds. These plants' compounds are with potencies and by screening and testing scientifically their remedies are safe and potent. With recent issues arising from synthetic compounds on the human body both short term and long term, medicinal plants deserve the attention and the urgency of the public as well as scientist. There is no time in history the demands for medicinal plants protection and usage should concern everyone than today. The outbreak of Covid'19 in Wuhan, China, since 2019, has claimed many lives and still claiming lives at the time of this writing. This is not the first of its kind. Infectious diseases keep claiming lives yearly across the globe. With research providing promising evidence of medicinal plants' potencies against many agents of infectious diseases, the world has no reason not to protect plants. Infectious diseases are grouped by the classes of their causative agent which are viral agents, bacterial agents, fungal agents, protozoa agents, helminth, and prions (agents devoid of any nucleic acid) [6–9]. Some plants have proven efficacy against all these agents [10]. With all these broad future expectations of medicinal plants, there are hundreds of medicinal plants on their way to extinction as a result of destructive human activities. This is the era the world should come together to support plants.
