Microbiological Analysis, Quality and Safety Evaluation of Commercially Sold Medicinal Herbal Cocktails from Local Herb Seller within Akoko South West, Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The use of herbal plants has been growing rapidly worldwide; it has been widely and extensively used locally as medicinal products in the treatment of different diseases. The extensive use of herbal medicinal products in the treatment and management of disease made it imperative to investigate the microbial analysis of locally prepared herbal cocktails sold in Akoko South West. Nigeria  Different samples of local herbs were randomly collected from different locations into sterile polythene and transported to the microbiology laboratory for further microbial analysis. The samples were analyzed using pour plate techniques. The bacteria isolates were characterized and identified based on their colonial, morphological characteristics, and biochemical tests according to Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. Antibiotic susceptibility test of the isolates was carried out using the disc agar diffusion method. The killing rate and growth dynamics of the bacterial isolates were determined using a Ultra-violet spectrophotometer. Twelve species of the isolates were recovered. Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium sporogenes showed a high susceptibility rate to Ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, Gentamicin, ampiclox, rifampicin, and Amoxillin while they were both resistant to Streptomycin, Norfloxacin, chloramphenicol, and Erythromycin. The Gram-positive isolates were 100% resistant to Norfloxacin, chloramphenicol, Erythromycin and 100% sensitive to Ciprofloxacin. UV-VIS spectrophotometer was used to measure the material of absorbance and quantitative analysis at the visible or ultraviolet light (200 ~ 760nm). Ultra-violet (UV) spectrophotometer was used to determine the growth dynamics and killing kinetics of isolated organisms, and to predict the wavelength of killing ratio of organisms isolated from the herbal cocktail. The addition of antibiotics to the isolated organisms at the 84th-hour speed up the death rate of the isolates from commercially sold herbal cocktail between 450-480nm wavelengths. Water used for production of herbal cocktail needed prolong hours of exposure to Ultraviolet rays/ light is necessary, to reduce microbial load drastically, with a great effect on the quality and safety of commercially sold herbal cocktail. There is a need for constant monitoring and quality control of herbal medicinal products being manufactured, sold, and used in Nigeria so as to reduce and or eradicate the effect of the organisms on human health.