Abstract
The study aimed to evaluate the bacterial contamination of powdered herbal medicinal preparations sourced from identified herbal retail outlets in different parts of Kaduna metropolis. The assessments of the contamination of the herbal products were carried out using standard procedures: total aerobic bacterial plate count, measurement of some physical parameters, isolation and characterization of selected bacterial pathogens etc. The results showed that out of a total of 150, 70 (46.67%) herbal remedies were contaminated with Salmonella typhi, twenty nine (19.33%) with Shigella spp. Eighty eight (58.67%) and 98 (65.33%) were contaminated with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The total aerobic plate count results showed that the highest average count of > 5x10(7) cfu/g was found in 89 (59.33%) of the preparations, while average plate count of < or = 5x10(7) cfu/g was found in 42 (28%) and no bacterial count was obtained in 19 (12.67%) of the preparations. Correlation was positive (P = 0.01; r = +0.109) between the physical parameters tested and the bacterial load. Antibacterial activities result of some common antibiotics showed that all the antibiotics had activities on the test bacterial isolates at various minimum inhibitory concentrations. Most traditionally prepared herbal medications in Kaduna state are likely to be contaminated with a wide variety of potentially pathogenic bacteria. The quality assurance of these products should be thoroughly enforced and monitored in the production and distribution of herbal preparations.
Highlights
The history of using herbs is inextricably intertwined with that of modern medicine
The maximum moisture content limit of 8% /g of herbal preparations are satisfactory according to National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC SOP, 2000)
Even at less than 8% moisture content limit various pathogenic bacteria were found; but at very low moisture content of less than 6% there were no bacterial counts in some of the herbal preparations
Summary
The history of using herbs is inextricably intertwined with that of modern medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO, 1998) survey indicated that about 70-80% of the world population in developing countries rely on non-conventional medicines mainly of herbal origins for their primary health care. This is because herbal medicines are accessible and cheap (Sofowora, 1993). The WHO (1993) explained that quality is the basis of reproducible efficacy and safety of herbal drugs, and to ensure the standard of research on herbal medicines, the quality of the plant materials or preparations is of utmost importance
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