Abstract Microbiological quality of some selected brands of tablets and syrups produced in Nigeria was carried out. The drugs were purchased from different chemist stores at different towns in the South West of Nigeria. The samples were serially diluted and plated on Nutrient and Saboraud Dextrose Agar by Pour plating method. The plates were incubated at 25 oC and 35 oC for Fungi and Bacteria isolation respectively. The isolated organisms were characterized and identified by using morphological, cultural and biochemical means. A total of 180 samples comprised of 80 syrups from 8 brands and 100 tablets from 10 brands were analysed. Bacterial counts ranged from 101 cfu/ml/g to 104 cfu/ml/g. A total of 167(93 %) samples conformed to microbial load specification with less than 103 cfu/ml/g microbial counts, only 13(7 %) samples were found out of specifications. syrups showed higher microbial counts than tablets. The organisms isolated from the samples include the following; Erwinia ananas, Erwinia carotovora, Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus casei, Candida spp. Only Candida species are of medically important isolates found. It can be concluded that majority of non sterile pharmaceutical products produced in Nigeria conform to the specified microbiological standard and fit for therapeutic application.
Keywords Nonsterile pharmqaceuticals, Microbial quality, Microbial limit.