Acta Scientific Medical Sciences (ASMS)(ISSN: 2582-0931)

Research Article Volume 6 Issue 2

Bacteriological Quality of Commonly Dispensed Non-prescription Drugs (Tablets) Sold in Patent Medicine Stores

Nwachukwu O Ndubuisi1*, Ezeagwula Divine1, Onyeagba A Reginald1, Unegbu N Valentine2 and Owanta I Julie1

1Department of Microbiology, Abia State University, Abia State, Nigeria
2Department of Biology, Spiritan University, Abia State, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author: Nwachukwu O Ndubuisi, Department of Microbiology, Abia State University, Abia State, Nigeria.

Received: December 16, 2021; Published: January 13, 2022

Abstract

Commonly consumed nonprescription oral dosage forms (tables) dispensed from Patent Medicine Stores are subject to unrestricted handling and potential contamination by microorganisms. We determined the bacteriological quality of tablets sold from patent medicine stores in Umuahia, Nigeria. A total of 113 items of 24 registered tablet brands were purchased. They were investigated for total bacterial count and presence of specified microorganisms using standard microbiological methods. Out of 113 items, 84(74.3%) tablets were free of microbial contamination while 14(12.4%) had bacterial counts <102 cfu/ml. Only 2(1.8%) tablets exceeded the specified bacterial limit of >2x103 cfu/ml. None of the blister-packed tablets had bacterial growth on them. All the tablets dispensed (“counted”) from large containers were contaminated by aerobic bacteria. The commonly encountered bacterial contaminants were Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus species. Folic acid and Magnesium trisilicate were the most contaminated tablets. The tablets in blister packs were of excellent bacteriological quality.

Keywords: Bacteriological Quality; Patent Medicine Stores; Commonly Dispensed; Non Prescription Tablets

References

  1. Agbo BE., et al. “Prevalence of contaminating microorganisms in anti-malarial drugs sold in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria”. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research10 (2016): 4272-4277.
  2. Obuekwe CO., et al. “Surface Microbial contamination in some commonly available tablet dosage forms”. Medical Principles and Practice 9 (2000): 290-293.
  3. Obi CN and Nwannunu U. “Microbiological analyses of drugs tablets from selected outlets in Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria”. Research Journal of Pharmacology 2 (2010): 31-37.
  4. Takon IA and Eyong EU. “Assessment of microbial quality of selected drug samples dispensed at six primary health centres in Aba Metropolis, Abia State, Nigeria”. British Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research5 (2018): 1296-1303.
  5. Vu JR and Kuptec TC. “Quality Control microbial limits tests for non-sterile pharmaceuticals. Part 2”. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding 4 (2014): 305-310.
  6. Rania SHE., et al. “Recovery and detection of microbial contaminants in some non-sterile pharmaceutical products”. Archives of Clinical Microbiology 6 (2013): 1.
  7. Qasem, MAS., et al. “Microbiological quality of blister-pack tablets in community pharmacies in Jordan”. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research 2 (2014): 261-263.
  8. United States Pharmacopeial Convention. The United States Pharmacopeia: USP 31: The National Formulary: NF 26 (2008).
  9. Cowan ST and Steel KJ. “Manual for the identification of medical bacteria”. 2nd Cambridge. Cambridge University Press (1984).
  10. The International Pharmacopoeia. 9th Microbiological quality of non-sterile products recommended acceptance criteria for Pharmaceutical preparations (2019).
  11. Gad, GFM., et al. “Microbial evaluation of some non-sterile pharmaceutical preparations commonly used in the Egyptian”. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research 10 (2011): 437-445.
  12. Muhammed A., et al. “Incidence and effects of microorganisms on quality of some pharmaceutical mixtures in Zaria, Nigeria”. Nigerian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research 8 (2009): 126-134.
  13. Akerele JO and Ukoh GC. “Aspects of microbial contamination of tablets dispensed in hospitals and community pharmacies in Benin City, Nigeria”. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research 1 (2002): 23-28.
  14. Itah AJ., et al. “Bacteriological quality of some pharmaceutical products marketed by drug vendor in Uyo, Nigeria”. African Journal of Health Sciences 11 (2004): 128-133.
  15. Mugoyela U and Mwambete KD. “Microbial contamination of non-sterile pharmaceuticals in public hospital settings”. Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management 6 (2010): 443-448.
  16. Obuekwe IF and Obuekwe CO. “Microbial contamination of pharmaceutical products in a tropical environment”. Pakistan Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research 45 (2002): 340-344.
  17. Al-Charrach AH. “Frequency and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from oral and topical medicaments from Hilla, Iraq”. Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 6 (2012): 489-494.
  18. Mwambete SA. “Microbiological quality and preservative capacity of commonly available cosmetics in Dares Salaam, Tanzania”. East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 13 (2010): 3-11.

Citation

Citation: Nwachukwu O Ndubuisi., et al. “Bacteriological Quality of Commonly Dispensed Non-prescription Drugs (Tablets) Sold in Patent Medicine Stores”.Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 6.2 (2022): 74-77.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Nwachukwu O Ndubuisi., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.




Metrics

Acceptance rate30%
Acceptance to publication20-30 days
Impact Factor1.403

Indexed In





Contact US