Assessment of Heavy Metal and Microbial Quality of Five Herbal Medicinal Concoctions Sold in Anambra State

Abstract

The increasing popularity and widespread use of herbal remedies as alternative medicine in Nigeria has raised genuine concern for their efficacy and public safety. In this study, five herbal concoctions sold in Anambra State claimed to be beneficial in the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, diabetes, pneumonia, typhoid and malaria, for boosting immune system and sexual enhancement, were procured from herbal vendors and evaluated for possible contaminants. The pH of the herbal concoctions were checked using digital pH meter. Heavy metals analysis was carried out using Varian AA 240 Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The microbial quality test was carried out using standard methods. The pH of the samples, showed that they are all acidic. The metal analysis revealed presence of Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, Zinc and Copper at concentrations below the WHO maximum permissible limit for herbal preparations. The concentration of Iron in the five herbal Samples and Manganese in sample A and D are above the maximum permissible limit. Microbial quality test shows that two of the herbal preparations contained bacteria with total viable bacterial count of 4x102 and 3x102cfu/ml respectively and one contained fungi with total viable fungal count of 1x102cfu/ml. All within the World Health Organization (WHO) acceptable limits. The result of this study shows that the concentrations of heavy metals in the herbal concoctions and the microbial load are not a matter of concern from the toxicity point of view. Therefore, it is ascertained that the studied herbal concoctions are safe for human consumption. However, caution should be placed on the strict regulation and registration of such products.