Determination of Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern of Bacteria Isolated from Herbal Drugs Hawked in Onitsha Anambra State Nigeria

Abstract

This study aimed at the determination of antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of bacteria isolated from herbal drugs hawked in Onitsha Anambra State. The microbiological purity and antibacterial characteristics of six Nigerian herbal remedies with the stated efficiency of healing all manners of microbial infections were evaluated.  The herbal remedies were discovered to be contaminated with the following microorganisms: Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus sp, Salmonella spp and E. coli. Qualitative phytochemical screening of the herbal remedies revealed the presence of saponin, tannins, alkaloids, anthraquinone and cardiac glycosides which suggest possible antimicrobial effect. The maximum activity of the herbal remedies in the test isolates was observed on Staphylococcus aureus, which showed clear zones of inhibition with diameters ranging from 7.00 to 13mm for the six herbal drugs respectively while it had low activity on E coli, with clear zones of inhibition of 6.00mm, to 14.00mm. The herbal extracts have shown appreciable antimicrobial activities comparable to the currently prescribed modern drugs tested. As a result, additional investigations on clinical efficacy trials, safety, toxicity, and affordability analyses must be initiated as soon as possible in order to proceed to the final step of synthesizing precursor molecules for novel effective antimicrobials.