ABSTRACT
Nigerians rely heavily on herbal medicines as part of their treatment regimen. Plants have been used for medical purposes to treat, prevent, and cure illnesses since ancient times. They don't always need precise dosage and administration guidelines, are inexpensive, and are readily available. This study looked into the microbiological makeup of five distinct herbal mixes that are sold locally in Benin City. Upon purchase at 8:00 AM, the samples were promptly brought in sterile containers to the laboratory for analysis. The samples were immediately subjected to the initial analysis, which involved culturing them on agar medium to record the amount of growth and cell concentration. To achieve this, the sample was first serially diluted at a ratio of 1:10 with sterilized peptone water. Next, the plates were inoculated using the pour plate technique for 24 hours on nutrient agar, mannitol salt agar, and potato dextrose agar. The range of total staphylococcal counts was 1.00 ± 0.00 to 135.50 ± 4.95 cfu/ml, while the range of total heterotrophic bacterial counts was 0.50 ± 0.71 to 166.00 ± 8.49 cfu/ml. A total of 1.00 ± 0.00 to 42.00 ± 2.83 cfu/ml were found in the fungal counts. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Micrococcus luteus, B. cereus, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, C. glutamicum, and Streptococcus spp. and Rhizopus oryzae were found to be separated within these herbal blends. The two species with the highest frequency of occurrence were B. cereus (32.69%) and S. cerevisiae (63.15%). Antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed on the bacterial isolates. Two cases of P. aeruginosa demonstrating resistance to streptomycin and chloramphenicol, and one case of B. cereus demonstrating resistance to zinnacef were found during this analysis. To guarantee that only safe and consumable medications are distributed throughout the community, it is crucial that relevant health regulators and policy makers address the formulation, production, preservation, storage, and viability of these preparations.
