In-vitro Evaluation of Antimicrobial Branded Herbal Formulations for their Efficacy

Abstract

In the present research work forty six herbal antimicrobial branded products were investigated for their antibacterial/antifungal activities using well diffusion method. Those herbal products were collected from local market which were manufactured by well-known herbal manufacturer and have clear recommendations against various microbial infections. These antimicrobial products were tested on the basis of pathogeneses caused by different microorganisms as indicated on the label. Among the tested branded formulations, only nine herbal preparations exhibited better antimicrobial activities, while rest of herbal formulations were devoid of antimicrobial effect. B34 and B30 demonstrated antibacterial activity when tested against Salmonella paratyphi. B18 was the only product, which showed activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The pathogenic fungi Candida albican that causes various infections was sensitive to herbal products like B42, B41, B43 and B14 as like to their sensitivity to antifungal drug (Griseofulvin). The results of the present study indicated the poor quality of herbal products being sold in the market with very high label claims. Only 9 out of 46 sampled products with antimicrobial label claimed qualify to some extent for medicinal use. As any health authority (DRA/MOH) in Pakistan does not regulate the herbal products, there was no control or check on the manufacturers and prescriber of these medicines. All the tested products contained herbs, which had proven data for their antimicrobial activity, still most of them failed to produce any pharmacological results.