JOURNAL OF NEW DISCOVERY IN MICROBIOLOGY
Integrity Research Journals
ISSN: 3122-0207
Model: Open Access/Peer Reviewed
DOI: 10.31248/JNDM
Start Year: 2020
Email: jndim@integrityresjournals.org
Evaluation of microbial bioburden of some Oral Liquid Herbal Medicines (Agbo) vended in Ilorin, Kwara State, North-Central Nigeria
https://doi.org/10.31248/JNDM2023.008 | Article Number: 0F8E41E12 | Vol.2 (1) - February 2024
Received Date: 08 September 2023 | Accepted Date: 20 November 2023 | Published Date: 28 February 2024
Author: Ahmad Aliyu
Keywords: Herbal medicines, Bacterial count, fungal count, microbial bioburden, microbiological evaluation.
Frequent use of herbal medicinal products for the treatment of different ailments is common in Nigeria. Herbal preparations produced and vended in the Ilorin metropolis require an urgent microbiological evaluation for the quality and safety assurance of their products. This study aims to determine the microbiological quality of oral liquid herbal medicines vended in the Ilorin metropolis, Kwara State, North-Central Nigeria. A total of 102 oral liquid herbal medicines were collected from 34 vendors randomly selected in the Ilorin metropolis and evaluated for microbiological quality. Eighty-eight samples (86.27%) had a total fungal count in the range of 1.0 × 102 to 4.1 × 103 cfu/ml, twenty-eight (27.45%) had a total bacterial count in the range of 1.2 × 103 to 8.1 × 104 cfu/ml. Scedosporium species colonies were fast growing, conidia were cylindrical to slightly flask-shaped and measured about 5 – 14 × 2 – 5 μm. Candida albicans and Candida krusei were both round and cream. Indole, methyl red, mortality and catalase tests were positive which indicates probable bacteria Escherichia coli. The fungal isolates were most sensitive to fluconazole and ketoconazole and had no susceptibility to griseofulvin. For bacteria, the isolates were most susceptible to gentamycin and ciprofloxacin followed by ciprofloxacin. The least active antibiotics on the bacterial isolates were streptomycin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. This study showed that the microbial bioburden of these herbal products is high compared to WHO standards and could pose a great health challenge to the community. It is recommended that vendors should adhere to good hygiene and manufacturing practices in the production of their herbal medicine for the safety of consumers in Ilorin metropolis.
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