Comparison of Murraya microbiological contamination and total flavonoid content on various drying methods

Abstract

Kemuning (Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack) is one of the ingredients in Herbal Medicine formulation to treat overweight. The herbal medicine raw materials used must be safe and efficacious. Improper post-harvest handling during the drying process can reduce the quality of simplicia regarding microbial contamination and chemical content. In this study, drying is carried out using several methods, namely sun drying, cabinet oven, room oven, bed dryer, and a combination of drying methods (sunlight-room oven, sunlight-cabinet oven, bed dryer-room oven, and bed dryer-cabinet oven) to determine how the drying methods affect M. paniculata simplicia’s microbial contaminations and the content of total flavonoids. The experimental trial was designed with a randomized block design and three replications. The parameters observed were microbial contamination (Total Plate Count and Total Yeast Mold Count) and the total flavonoid content of simplicia. The F test analyzed and further tested the data with orthogonal contrast using Microsoft Excel. The outcomes demonstrated that various drying techniques had highly diverse impacts on bacterial and fungal contamination of the simplicia. There was a significant difference in the total plate count of simplicia between the single drying method and the combination method. Significant differences in fungal contamination were obtained using the combination method of drying in the sunlight-room oven with the sun-cabinet oven drying. The drying process using a cabinet oven and sunlight-cabinet oven combination produced the highest total flavonoid content. However, drying using a combination method of sunlight-cabinet oven does not meet the requirements in terms of microbial contamination. Drying using the cabinet oven method produces the best quality simplicia regarding safety and efficacy.