Microbiological Contamination of Selected Herbal Medicinal Products at Okaishie Drugstore Lane, Ghana.

Abstract

Herbal remedies derived from plants have been used for thousands of years in various cultures. The rising popularity of herbal remedies all over the world has highlighted the importance of ensuring their safety and efficacy. The aim of the study was to determine the microbial contamination of orally administered herbal products sold in Ghana's Okaishie Drug Store Lane. Standard microbiological methods were employed in the enumeration of coliforms and the identification of pathogenic microbes in 272 orally administered herbal products (Liquid, teas, powder and capsules). Results showed that 38 (14%) products evaluated were non-compliant with the international standard for microbial analysis. During the identification of the pathogenic bacteria, it was revealed that 94.5% complied with compendial requirements when it comes to Escherichia coli while 5.5% did not. For Salmonella spp. 2.6% did not comply. The Total Aerobic Microbial Count (TAMC) recorded for those that complied and those that did not comply with the compendial requirements are 67.6% and 32.4% respectively. Total Yeast and Mold Count (TYMC) recorded non-compliance of 14.3%. For capsules 87% complied with international standard while for the liquids 84.5% complied. The powders recorded 19.4% non-compliance and teas 4.9% non-compliance. Overall, for the dosage forms the not registered has higher levels of non-compliance with the highest 37.5% representing powders followed by liquid having 32.5% and then capsules 22.5%; teas have the least non-compliance of 12.5%. For the Registered, teas have the highest compliance of 96.7% and lowest 62.2% representing powders; 15.8% is the highest that Does not comply when it come to the Registered products found in the powders followed by liquid and capsules both having a percentage of 13.6% and the least is Teas having 3.3%. The presence of these bacteria and fungi in herbal medicines poses a major health concern to both patients and the general public. As such, there is a pressing need for the continuous monitoring and regulation of the quality standards of herbal medicines that are made available in the aforementioned location.