**2. Justification for the use of herbal medicines**

There exist diverse reasons for the continuing use of herbal medicines for health care in Africa; these include cultural acceptability, easy accessibility and affordability, and in some instances, non-availability and prohibitive cost of allopathic medicines [4]. Some people also employ herbal medicines under other circumstances, for example, in health conditions that had failed to respond to orthodox treatment or which allopathic medicines are deemed not to treat adequately and less safely [5]. Other health conditions believed to have spiritual origins [2] and those thought to need holistic therapies are also managed with herbal medicines.
