ABSTRACT
Herbal medicines are presently widely used in developed and developing countries for health care due to their affordability, accessibility and availability. Objective: The microbial quality of selected herbal remedies sold in open markets in Owerri, South Eastern, Nigeria was studied. Methods: The samples were bulked according to type and then serially diluted. The spread plate technique was used in inoculating the samples on the appropriate culture medium and then incubated. Standard laboratory protocols for microbiological studies and biochemical tests were employed for the identification of the microorganisms present in the samples. Results: The presence of bacterial species namely Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Micrococcus, Enterococcus and Staphylococcus spp was recorded. They were all gram positive and bacterial counts ranged from 1.0 x 106 to 7.8 x 107cfu/ml. Fungal isolates included Mucor, Saccharomyces and Penicillium spp. and fungal counts ranged from 3.0x103 to 1.3x108 cfu/ml respectively. Conclusion: The presence of these microorganisms in herbal remedies do not only make them hazardous, but might also change the physical, chemical and natural properties of the herbal remedies by altering the contents of active ingredients or converting them to toxic products. The production and consumption of herbal remedies should be properly supervised and monitored to ensure that only good quality products get to the consumers.
ABSTRACT
The prevalence of causative agents of acute otitis media amongst children in some parts of Owerri, Imo State - Nigeria was investigated, between the months of September and December, 2012 using standard microbiological methods. One hundred and fifty two swabs from ear discharge were collected from children under 12 years of age. The results revealed that 128 (84.2%) were positive for bacterial growth while 24 (15.8%) had no growth. The predominant organisms isolated included Pseudomonas aeruginosa (37.5%), Staphylococcus aureus (23.4%), Proteus species (12.5%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (7.8%), Escherichia coli (7.8%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (7.8%). Antibiotic susceptibility tests revealed that all the isolates were multiresistant to six or more of the tested antibiotics while the most prevalent organisms were susceptible to gentamycin, chloramphenicol and cotrimoxazole. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis were susceptible to ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. All the isolates were resistant to amoxicilline/clavulanate spectinomycin and ofloxacin (except Staphylococcus aureus). Therefore, chloramphenicol, gentamycin, cotrimoxazole ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin, are suggested as topical treatment in the management of acute otitis media and good personal hygiene is also encouraged.