Antibacterial Property and Bioactive Compounds of Selected Herbal Products

Ten herbal products, made up of five powdery and five liquid samples of different brands, were assessed microbiologically for the presence and types of microorganisms. Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical screening of the samples above was also conducted to verify the presence or absence of bioactive components. Ten bacterial species, viz: Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Corynebacterium diptheriae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Clostridium botulinum, were isolated from these herbal products. The fungi isolated were Aspergillus Niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium verticillioides, Fusarium oxysporium, and Mucor racemosus. Results of phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids, and tannins. Alkaloid was the most abundant in the samples, with a value of 1070.04 mg/100g in sample F, while the least abundant in sample F was phenol (0.38 mg/100g). The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of certain compounds such as thiophene, propanoic acid, 2,2-dimethyl-, ethyl ester, pentanoic acid, 2-methyl, toluene, and many others in sample F that exhibited significant antimicrobial effects. These compounds are known to possess antimicrobial properties. Results from this study revealed that, though these herbal products contain bioactive compounds with potential antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, they are contaminated with microorganisms of health importance. Hence, local herbalists preparing these herbal products need to be educated on good manufacturing practices (GMP). Doi: 10.28991/SciMedJ-2022-04-04-03 Full Text: PDF