The aim of this study is to microbiologically assess some liquid herbal medications sold in Awka, Anambra state, Nigeria. Sixty liquid herbal preparations (twenty NAFDAC registered and forty unregistered) were purchased from different vendors in Awka and analyzed for their microbiological quality by determining the levels of bacteria and fungi in them. Aliquots of the various serially diluted herbal products were cultured on various media plates; NA, SDA, MCA, EMB agar and XLD agar. Total bacterial count of 1.0 x 10 3-2.1 x 10 6 cfu/ml, total coliform count of 1 x 10 3-7.8 x 10 4 cfu/ml; E.coli count of 1.0 x 10 2-2.0 x 10 2 cfu/ml and total fungal count of 1.0 x 10 2-1.4 x 10 5 cfu/ml were obtained from NAFDAC registered ones while the unregistered ones had a total bacterial count of 3.6 x 10 3-1.11 x 10 7 cfu/ml; total coliform count of 2.0 x 10 2 to 4.4 x 10 5 cfu/ml; E. coli count of 1.0 x 10 2-7.0 x 10 4 cfu/ml and a total fungal count of 2.0 x 10 2 to 2.0 x 10 6 cfu/ml. The result showed that seventy percent of the registered drugs met the WHO standard for liquid herbal drugs while twenty-eight percent of the unregistered ones met the standard. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between the total heterotrophic bacterial count and total coliform of registered and unregistered drugs and insignificant differences (P> 0.05) between their total fungal count and E. coli count. Isolates gotten from both samples includes Escherichia coli (21.6%), Enterobacter asburiae (25%), Providencia rettgeri (13.3%), Acinetobacter baumannii (11.6%), Staphylococcus sp (16.6%), Bacillus sp (10%), Scedosporium aurantiacum (5%), Candida albicans (28.3%) and Candida krusei (13.3%). The antibiotic susceptibility test showed that E. coli was resistant to most of the antibacterial drugs used and Acinetobacter baumannii was the most susceptible while Penicillium marneffei was the most resistant to the antifungal drugs used and Phialophora parasiticum was the most susceptible. The research work showed that the microbial quality of these herbal drugs is low compared to standard of World Health Organization and could pose a great health risk to the society.
The wound healing and antimicrobial effects of Azadirachta indica leaf extracts were evaluated on Eschericha coli infected diabetic wounds using albino rat model. The study was a cross-sectional work done between January and June, 2020. Eschericha coli was isolated and identified from 50 infected diabetic patients using Eosin methylene blue and standard biochemical tests. The crude extracts of A. indica were gotten using ethanol and water by soxhlet method. The phytochemical such as saponins, phenols, tannins, flavonoid and alkaloids were determined quantitatively and qualitatively using standard method. In vitro antimicrobial effect of extracts and their combination were evaluated. The wound healing effects of the extracts were done using six weeks old albino rat model. Out of 50 swab samples of infected diabetic wounds, 30 isolates were obtained which E. coli was 20% of the bacterial isolates from the infected wound. The phytochemical analysis of the extracts showed the presence of saponin, flavonoids, steroid, alkaloids, tannins and phenol. Among the leaf extracts analysed, A. indica ethanol extract has the highest inhibition zone against E. coli (10.67±1.15 mm) at 500 mg/ml and 1000 mg/ml concentration. The Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 250 mg/ml while the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was 1000mg/ml. Diabetic and healthy groups of albino rats were treated after 1 week of infection. Comparing the negative control rats witsh those treated with daily topical application of the leaf extracts, showed significant reduction in wound size and rapid healing (P = 0.05). Comparing with positive control, the leaf extracts have almost the same healing effect with the positive control (povidone iodine). The leaf extracts of A. indica possess antimicrobial properties for E. coli especially the ethanol extract which heals faster than aqueous extract and can be used as an alternative for healing infected non diabetic and chronic diabetic wounds.
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