Research Article

Approaches for the Elimination of Microbial Contaminants from Lippia multiflora Mold. Leaves Intended for Tea Bagging and Evaluation of Formulation

Table 4

Microbial load analyses of tea bags prepared from the oven-dried leaves of L. multiflora Mold.

Test conductedLTB1 (cfu/g)LTB2 (cfu/g)LTB3 (cfu/g)LTB4 (cfu/g)Acceptance criterion (BP, 2019)

1TAMC/37°C/24 h/PCA1.2 × 1031.1 × 1031.8 × 1022.5 × 104≤5.0 × 107
2TYMC/25°C/5 days/MEA6.0 × 1025.5 × 1023.9 × 1037.4 × 104≤5.0 × 105
E. coliAbsence
Salmonella spp.Absence
Staphylococcus spp.Absence

BP, British Pharmacopoeia; 1TAMC: total aerobic microbial counts; 2TYMC: total yeast and mold counts; −: absent; +: present; PCA: plate count agar; MEA: malt extract agar.