Microbial assessment of some retail cough syrup sold in Minna

Abstract

Twenty brands of cough syrups were analyzed for microbial assessment from different pharmaceutical and patient medicine stores in Minna. The result revealed the microbial count of 1.6 x 106 to 7.2 x 106 cfu/ml bacteria for thirteen samples and 1.4 x 103 to 8.6 x 103 cfu/ml for fungi for nine samples. The organisms identified were Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi for bacteria. Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspegillus niger, Penicillium notatum and Fusarium solani for fungi. Staphylococcus aureus had the highest prevalent bacterial with (65%) and Bacillus subtilis had the least (5%). Aspergillus fumigatus was the most prevalent among the fungi isolated (33%) while Penicillium notatum (11%) had the least. The presence of these organisms revealed that the syrups that are purchased and administered to children are sometimes a source of complication for the initial ailment. Thus, these organisms could lead to gastrointestinal disorders and as such government regulatory agencies should intensify more effort to see that quality control and assurance are applied regularly.