Microbiological analysis in different brands of Hepato-protective liquid herbal medicines available in the Dhaka city

Introduction: The use of herbal medicine is on the rise worldwide, and safety issues associated with herbal medicines may have an impact on the population who are using it. Herbal medicines are generally considered as safe based on their long-standing use in various cultures. However, there are concerns regarding the safety especially microbial growth of many of the liquid herbal medicines. Objective: To isolate and identify the organisms from the Herbal Preparations used by the mass people. Methods: A total of 27 different Hepato-protective herbal medicines (HPHMs) were purchased randomly from identified herbal shops and retail outlets in different parts of Dhaka city. All collected samples were analyzed by the Pour Plate method for microorganisms in the Department of Microbiology, Bangladesh University of Health Sciences (BUHS), Mirpur, Dhaka. Results: The results of the culture of the studied Hepato-protective drugs showed “No growth” of any Bacteria among 14 samples (51.9%). Growth was found in the remaining 13 samples (48.1%). There was “No growth” of any fungi in all Hepato-protective liquid herbal medicines. Conclusions: The levels of viable bacteria in the studied samples were found to be above safety limits. Pathogenic bacteria were also isolated from these herbal medicines. So, the use of homemade and commercial herbal medicines is a major risk to the health of the people who use these therapies due to the lack of microbial quality standards. Therefore, this warrants immediate need of management of herbal medicines to scale up its quality & safety issue.