The Quality Assessment of Some Herbal Preparations Produced in Ghana
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Date
JUNE 2007
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Abstract
The quality of some herbal products on the Ghanaian market was assessed using harmonized procedures for assessing the quality of herbal preparations issued by Ghana National Drug Programme (GNDP) and Ministry of Health, Ghana.
A total of thirty (30) samples consisting of six (6) herbal mixture (liquid), six (6) herbal powder, six (6) herbal creams, six (6) herbal ointments and six (6) soaps were obtained for the study. These samples were subjected to various analyses. The parameters measured, were grouped as follows: microbial type and levels; (Escherichia coli, aerobic bacteria, yeast/moulds and salmonella Typhi), Organoleptic properties; (clarity, appearance, colour, taste and odour), physicochemical properties; (pH, total ash, sulphated ash, acid-insoluble ash, total solids and specific gravity); phytochemical screening for major constituents; (glycosides, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, anthraquinones, anthracene) and heavy metals; (mercury, arsenic, lead and cadmium).
Results obtained in the study suggest that the parameters tested for all the samples from three batches of every herbal preparation showed reproducibility in the preparation of the products. When compared with quality standards where applicable, it was found out that the results were all below the WHO quality standards.
The quality of the herbal preparations assessed is acceptable based on comparison with the World Health Organization (WHO) quality standards.
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A Thesis submitted to the Department of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE (ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY)