Evaluation of Microbiological Quality of Some Pharmacopoeial Herbal Drugs Used in Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha Medicines

Abstract

The present work was carried out considering the increased use of herbal drugs used in Ayurvedic, Unani and Siddha systems of medicine. It is necessary to set appropriate standards for microorganisms in herbal drugs in order to reduce the risks for consumer’s health. In this study, five drug samples Coriandrum sativum L., Trigonella foenum-graceum L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Piper nigrum L., and Emblica officinalis Gaertn. from commercial sources were used for microbiological analysis. The total bacterial count ranged from 3.7 × 104 to 5.3 × 105 Cfu/g. The total Yeast and Mold count varied from 2.5 × 103 to 3.6 × 104 Cfu/g. The presence of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in Foeniculum vulgare Mill. and Emblica officinalis Gaertn., respectively, showed that herbal drugs evaluated did not generally meet the standards for microbial limits as specified in official monographs. Such products can adversely affect health status of consumers as well as the stability of the products.

Keywords: Herbal drugs, microbial assessment, pathogen detection