Medicinal Plants - International Journal of Phytomedicines and Related Industries

SCOPUS
  • Year: 2017
  • Volume: 9
  • Issue: 4

Assessment of microbiological quality of raw medicinal plants used for the preparation of Ayurvedic drugs

1Department of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant, High Altitude Plant Physiology Research Centre, H.N.B. Garhwal University (A Central University), Srinagar, Garhwal-246174, Uttarakhand, India

2Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnology, C.S.J.M. University, Kanpur-208024, India

3Department of Forestry, Uttaranchal University, Arcadia Grant Premnagar, Dehradun-248007, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

The present study was carried out to know the microbiological quality of raw medicinal plant material available in the market used for the preparation of Ayurvedic drugs. The raw medicinal plant samples tested contained fungi viz. Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Penicillium spp., Mucor spp., Rhizopus spp., Alternaria alternata, Fusarium spp. and bacteria viz. Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, Staphylococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Klebsiella spp. The presence of Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium spp. in samples suggest there might be chances of mycotoxin presence. The presence of “Enterobacteriaceae family and other firmicutes bacteria” reflect the situation regarding fecal contamination. Out of 20 samples, 7 samples for bacteria and 18 samples for fungi were exceeded their individual permissble limit set by WHO.

Keywords

Medicinal plant, total bacterial count, total fungal count