Microorganisms and Heavy Metal Contamination in Complementary and Herbal Medicine Creams in Saudi Arabia: a prospective experimental study

Abstract

Introduction: Herbal medicine is a medical system based on the utilization of plants or plant extracts for therapy. The continual increase in global consumption and the trade of herbal medicine has raised safety concerns in many regions. These concerns are mainly linked to microbial and heavy metal contamination. Methods: This study was performed using an experimental design. A total of 47 samples were used in the experiments, which were tested for bacterial contamination, alongside 32 samples for heavy metal analysis. Bacterial contamination was determined by the streak plate method and further processed to determine their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns using MicroScan WalkAway96 pulse; heavy metals were determined using a spectrometer instrument. Results: A total of 58 microorganisms were isolated. All samples were found to be contaminated with at least one organism except one sample. The majority of the isolated bacterial species were gram negative bacteria, such as Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas spp. and E. coli. Furthermore, most of the gram-positive bacteria were found to be multi-drug resistant. Moreover, for heavy metals, all samples had levels exceeding the regulatory limits. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the presence of bacteria and heavy metals in samples of herbal medicines. These findings suggest the potential risks for those patients who use herbal medicine.