Assessment of the Microbial Quality of Mekocin, Goko Cleanser and Omega Roots Commercially Sold as Liquid Herbs in Nigerian Markets

The importance of herbs in trado-medicine cannot be overemphasized; however, some herbs prepared in liquid form, and sold in Nigeria markets may be contaminated by microorganisms, fumigants, endotoxin, pesticides and toxic metals, and that the presence of contaminants in herbal products can reduce or even destroy the therapeutic activity of the product, as well as causing adverse effects. The aim of this study was to determine the microbial load of some liquid herbal products sold in Port Harcourt Metropolis. Three (3) different liquid herbal products (Goko cleanser, Mekocin and Omega roots) were used for the study, and were coded as HEB B, HEB C and HEB D respectively. The liquid herbal products were analyzed for their microbiological qualities by testing for the presence of total bacterial load, isolation and identification of pathogenic microorganisms of the herbal products using various culture media. The microbial isolates were identified based on cultural and morphological characteristics, biochemical testing and Gram staining. The predominant bacteria isolate from Goko cleanser (HEB B) is Bacillus spp, from Mekocin (HEB C) are Bacillus spp and Aspergillus spp, and from Omega roots (HEB D) is Shigella spp. The descriptive analyses for average bacteria in colony-forming unit/ml from Goko cleanser (HEB B), Mekocin (HEB C) and Omega roots (HEB D) were 24.60±2.24, 48.00±9.08 and 50.70±44.60 respectively. The presence of these microorganisms may be attributed to the source of raw materials and possible contamination in the manufacturing process. It is therefore recommended that herbal medicine producers be properly educated on the dangers associated with intake of microbial contaminants. Also regulatory agencies such as NAFDAC should periodically access the quality of herbal products particularly in Port Harcourt Metropolis and the Nigerian markets in general.