Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

« Back to Farmacia Journal 2/2022

DETECTION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI FROM NON-STERILE HERBAL PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS FROM THE ROMANIAN MARKET

MANUELA-CLAUDIA CURTICĂPEAN *

“George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences, and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Faculty of Pharmacy,
Cell Biology and Microbiology Department, 38 Gh. Marinescu Street, 540139, Târgu Mureș, Romania

Download Full Article PDF

The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the importance of using rapid microbiological methods, particularly real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), for the rapid detection of Escherichia coli from non-sterile herbal pharmaceutical products available on the Romanian market. For the identification of the potential presence of Escherichia coli in 10 non-sterile drug samples, genomic bacterial DNA has been isolated, amplified and quantified under real-time qPCR conditions. qPCR analysis of 10 analysed samples showed the presence of Escherichia coli in all investigated non-sterile herbal drugs. The highest amount of bacterial DNA was recorded for 2 samples (3.58 ng and 1.66 ng) and the lowest bacterial DNA quantities have been registered for the sample S10 (0.00013 ng). PCR-based methods provided a rapid detection and quantification of bacterial contamination that showed the presence of Escherichia coli in all investigated non-sterile herbal pharmaceutical products.