CHAPTER ONE 1.0       INTRODUCTION             Despite the growing burden of high blood pressure in developing countries, there is limited information on the contribution of ethnopharmacology in the treatment of hypertension. Globally, high blood pressure (HBP) is estimated to cause about  7.1 million deaths, 62% of cerebrovascular diseases are attributed to suboptimal blood pressure (Systolic >115mmHg) , Tomatoes  plays an active role in the management of hypertension, coronary heart disease, Ischemic stroke, type II diabetes and certain diseases. Worldwide about 58% of diabetic mellitus and 21% of Ischemic heart disease are attributed to high blood pressure (Onwubere, 2012). Hypertension is positively and independently associated with high morbidity and mortality rate in Africa especially in South-east Nigeria. It is also independently associated to other cardiovascular diseases such as angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, type II diabetes mellitus and other chronic diseases, along with infection and malnutrition (WHO, 2002). Blood Pressure (BP) is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels and is one of the principal vital signs. During each heartbeat, blood varies between maximum (systolic) and minimum (diastolic) pressure. The mean BP, due to pumping by the heart and resistance to flow in the blood vessels decreases as the circulating blood moves away from the heart. Though healthy adult human is 120mmHg (systolic) and 80mmHg diastolic (written 120/80 mmHg, and is spoken {in US and UK} as one twenty over eighty), systolic and diastolic arterial BPs are not static but undergo natural variations from one heartbeat to another and throughout the day in a circadian rhythm, they also change in response to stress, nutritional factors, drugs, diseases, exercise and momentarily from standing up. Persistently raised blood pressure exceeding about 120mmHg (systolic) and 90mmHg (diastolic) at rest is called hypertension.

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