Effect of Drying Method on Microbial Abundance and Andrographolide Content of Andrographis Paniculata

Abstract

The drying method is an important factor for the quality of herbs’ raw materials, including Andrographis paniculata, because it reduces constituents and the growth of microorganisms, affecting the standard of herbal raw materials. An appropriate drying method can help prevent microbial contamination and preserve the andrographolide content in Andrographis paniculata. For this experiment the Andrographis paniculata drying was done in various drying methods:1) in the sun, 2) indoors, 3) in the solar greenhouse, and 4) using hot air. The experimental results indicated that Andrographis paniculata contains an amount of andrographolide 101.30, 99.24, and 91.92 mg/l, respectively. The solar drying method showed the lowest value approximately 69.66 mg/l. However, the amount of active ingredients in Andrographis paniculata in the sun and indoor-drying method was not different. However, higher contaminants were found in the Total Plate Count. The number of total micro-organisms in the sun and indoor-drying methods was 1.4x10⁶ CFU/g, and 6.2x10⁶ CFU/g respectively while in the solar and hot-air-drying methods were found 8.4x10⁵ and 3.6x10⁵ CFU/g, respectively. Therefore, these results suggested that, the hot-air-oven-drying method is the most suitable method for Andrographis paniculata because it can maintain the quality and quantity of active ingredients.