What is it about?
There has been reported increase in utilization of herbal products in both developed and developing Countries. But are these products safe? This work was carried out to determine the possible presence of mycotoxins in medicinal products of plant origin sold in the Kenyan market.
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Why is it important?
The Aspergillus and Penicillium genus were the most predominant mycoflora isolated from the herbal sample products. Of great significance was the dominant presence of toxigenic fungi such as Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium marneffei. Also of great concern was the isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans, a highly pathogenic fungus that mainly affect the lungs and central nervous system of persons with compromised immunity.
Perspectives
This article received a lot of media attention especially in Kenya. It is my hope that this article will provide the much needed supportive evidence on the importance of policy development to regulate herbal products in Kenya.
Lucia Keter
Kenya Medical Research Institute
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Risk of Fungi Associated with Aflatoxin and Fumonisin in Medicinal Herbal Products in the Kenyan Market, The Scientific World JOURNAL, January 2017, Hindawi Publishing Corporation,
DOI: 10.1155/2017/1892972.
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