Bacterial contamination in Thai Ayurveda products

Sir,

The usefulness of Ayurveda pharmaceutical products is accepted worldwide. In Thailand, which has received its civilizational moorings from India, the localized practice of Ayurveda, namely Thai Ayurveda medicine is widely in use.[1] With the governmental promotion of Thai Ayurveda medicine, the local production of Thai Ayurveda products can be seen in many local medical centers in Thailand. However, similar to India, an important consideration is the quality control of the manufacturing. In fact, the problem of contamination in the Ayurveda product is reported worldwide. The good example is the lead contamination within the product.[2] Here, the authors analyze the primary data from a two-year survey of the quality of Thai Ayurveda products manufactured from local district hospital in the southernmost part of Northeast Region of Thailand (survey supported by Thai Department of Medical Science. See referencing data in Dept Med Sci Lett 2013;27:9). The area studied was the border area next to Cambodia. Overall, 101 Thai Ayurveda product samples were collected and studied and it was found that 57.4 % had bacterial contamination over the acceptable Thailand pharmaceutical standards, TP Supplement 2005.[3] According to these standards, acceptable level includes all of the following criteria: (a) Total viable aerobic count ≤5.0 × 105/g or ml. (b) Yeast and molds count ≤5.0 × 103/g or ml. (c) Enterobacteria count ≤103/g or ml. (d) No Salmonella spp./10 g or ml. (e) No Escherichia coli/g or ml. (f) No Staphylococcus aureus/g or ml. (g) No Clostridium spp./10 g or ml.[3] Compared to the survey of the locally produced products in India, of which null prevalence of contamination was reported,[4] the high contamination rate in Thailand is a serious problem. Hence, there is an urgent need for quality management of the Ayurveda pharmaceutical product manufacturing process of the local district hospitals.