Assessment of bacterial and fungal contamination of herbal mixture vended within Kaduna metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

The consumption of herbal mixtures among Nigerians have been on the increase in recent years. Many herbal mixtures sold to the general public are likely to be contaminated by a diverse range of potentially pathogenic microorganisms due to lack of good manufacturing practices (GMPs). Therefore, this study is aimed to evaluate the bacterial and fungal profile of herbal mixtures sold within the Kaduna metropolis. A total of twenty samples of herbal mixtures were randomly purchased fromfour distinct locations within the Kaduna metropolis. The samples were subjected to microbiological analysis using standard methods. Bacterial genera isolated from the herbal mixture samples include Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp. while the fungal genera were Aspergillus sp., Saccharomyces sp., Fusarium sp. and Penicillium sp. Herbal mixture obtained from Mandao and Malali district had the highest (9.68±1.70×10⁵CFU/ml) and lowest (6.60±0.43×10⁵CFU/ml) bacterial load while the corresponding fungal load involved samples obtained from Central market (1.48±11.25×10⁴ CFU/ml) and Tudun Wada (1.48± 3.11 ×10³ CFU/ml), respectively. Bacillus sp. (60%) and Aspergillus sp. (45%) were the dominant bacterial and fungal genera, respectively. Given the substantial microbial contamination of herbal mixtures and the potential pathogenicity of certain isolates, it is imperative to ensure that herbalists are wellinformed about the principles and implementation of GMPs. It is recommended that regular microbiological monitoring of herbal mixtures should be conducted.