National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)
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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Herbal medicinal plants are widely used in traditional healthcare systems, but their safety and quality may be affected by microbial contamination during harvesting, processing, storage, and marketing. The present study was undertaken to investigate the fungal diversity associated with selected dried herbal medicinal plant samples. A total of ten herbal samples representing different plant parts, including rhizomes, leaves, stems, roots, and fruits, were collected from local herbal markets and analyzed for fungal contamination using the dilution plate technique. The fungal isolates were identified based on colony morphology and microscopic characteristics. The results revealed the presence of 17 fungal species belonging to several genera, including Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Cladosporium, Rhizopus, and Mucor. Among the investigated samples, Terminalia belerica fruits exhibited the highest fungal load and diversity, with a total colony count of 313 and a mean value of 18.41 ± 10.72, whereas Acorus calamus rhizomes and Azadirachta indica leaves showed comparatively lower fungal contamination. The dominant fungal genera observed across the samples were Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium, which are commonly associated with stored plant materials and include several mycotoxin-producing species. The findings highlight the importance of proper post-harvest handling, hygienic processing, and suitable storage conditions to minimize fungal contamination and ensure the microbiological safety and quality of herbal medicines.
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