Microbiological Quality of Cough Syrups and Herbal Solutions ‘Agbo’ Sold in Makurdi Metropolis of Benue State, Nigeria

Orthodox cough syrups and a local herbal preparation called ‘Agbo' in Nigeria (a mixture of the extracts of the barks of Enantia chlorantha and Nauclea latifolia, stem of Anogiessus leiocarpus and the stem bark of Khaya grandifoliola) are highly patronized cough medicines in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. Samples (n = 60, consisting 24 cough syrups produced by different pharmaceutical companies, sourced from different pharmacy shops and 36 Agbo samples: three samples collected from each of three different vendors in three areas) were analysed for any microbial contamination using culture techniques and biochemical tests. One brand of the cough Syrup yielded S. aureus (5.9 x 104 cfu/ml) and another syrup yielded Pseudomonas spp. (4.2 x 104 cfu/ml). No bacterial and fungal growth in the rest of the samples. The spectrum of antimicrobial activity of Agbo at 5 mg/dl and 10 mg/dl concentrations on Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Candida albicans and Aspergillus flavus using ciprofloxacin and distilled water as positive and negative controls respectively were also determined. Mixture of the ethanolic extracts of the Agbo plants have antibacterial activity at 5 mg/dl and 10 mg/dl, with less antifungal activity. At the same concentration, the mixture of the aqueous extracts also has antibacterial activity but no antifungal activity. The zone of inhibition of the ethanolic extracts was slightly greater than that of the aqueous extracts on the bacteria spp. at both concentrations. At the lower concentration, the zone of inhibition was seen to be higher for both the ethanolic and aqueous extracts. Greater inhibition of A. flavus, was seen at both concentrations compared to C. albicans. The bacterial contamination of the two cough syrups raises an alert and the ‘Agbo' stimulates interest.