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Research Paper | Microbiology | India | Volume 12 Issue 8, August 2023
Evaluation of Microbial Contamination in Herbal Drugs
Aparajita Gupta | Himanshu Upadhyay | Sachin Pandey
Abstract: Herbal remedies are becoming more and more well - liked as alternatives to conventional pharmaceuticals because of their alleged natural origins and potential health advantages. However, worries about microbial contamination in herbal medications have surfaced, raising concerns about their safety and effectiveness. In this study, the microbiological load of herbal medicines?specifically Triphala, Shatavari, and Ashwagandha?was assessed, along with the effects of various time periods on microbial contamination. Samples of the herbal medicines were cultivated on Nutrient Agar Medium (NAM) plates for bacterial evaluation and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) plates for fungal assessment in order to look into microbial contamination. To observe the changes in microbial load over time, the 30th and 60th days were chosen as the two time windows. The study's findings showed that the microbial burden significantly increased across the designated time periods. On NAM plates, Triphala and Shatavari had the highest bacterial loads of all the herbal medications tested, pointing to a higher potential of bacterial contamination. Triphala had an average bacterial count of 18x10? - 3 colony - forming units per gram (cfu/g), compared to Shatavari's 9x10 - 3cfu/g. These data imply a significant bacterial burden in these herbal medications, which may jeopardise their efficacy and safety. On SDA plates, Ashwagandha displayed the highest fungal load in terms of contamination by fungi. The presence of fungus and the potential dangers of fungal contamination in this herbal medication are highlighted by the fungal count for ashwagandha, which was around 7x10 - 3cfu/g. The observed rise in microbial load with time suggests the possibility of microbial development and contamination during various intervals in time. These results highlight the requirement for strict quality control procedures and monitoring guidelines in the manufacture and storage of herbal medicines.
Keywords: Herbal medications, Conventional Pharmaceuticals, Microbial contamination, Jeopardise
Edition: Volume 12 Issue 8, August 2023,
Pages: 2333 - 2336