MICROSCOPIC, MICROBIAL AND MOISTURE CONTENT EVALUATION OF THE HERBAL PRODUCTS AFFECTING THE URINARY SYSTEM MARKETED IN SYRIA

Abstract

The use of herbal products has increased in recent times. However, there are insufficient studies on their quality. Finished herbal products and crude plants affecting the urinary system in Syria were evaluated in this study. Most of the loss on drying values were above the constitutional limits. 37% of the product samples exceeded the safety limits (CFU/g ≤ 103) of bacterial growth, and 70.3% of the samples exceeded the safety limit for fungal growth (CFU/g ≤ 102). All samples were free of bacterial pathogens; however, the dominant detected fungal species were Aspergillus flavus and Rhizopus. The Microscopic evaluation demonstrated the presence of the labeled plants on the product. Nevertheless, substantial quantities of starch grains were detected in samples B2 and B3 of product B, and Ammi visnaga L. powder was missing from one of the samples. It is critical to monitor the quality of herbal products before and after marketing.