2024, Vol. 12, Issue 4, Part E

Quality control of herbal medicines is essential to ensure treatments’ efficacy and safety. Therefore, this study evaluated 64 samples of dried and crushed extracts of Cymbopogon citratus, Equisetum arvense, Matricaria chamomilla, Maytenus ilicifolia, Mentha piperita, Pimpinella anisum, Rosmarinus officinalis and Salvia officinalis, sold as tea in their original packaging from commercial establishments in the city of Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, between July and December 2023. Label and package insert, authenticity, purity, heavy metals, minerals, and microbiological analyses were carried out according to official national and international regulations, revealing disparities in labels and package inserts, low approval rates for authenticity and purity, variability in potassium, iron, zinc, and lead concentrations, with some exceeding safe levels and presenting microbiological contamination (P<0.05). Stringent sanitary control according to pharmacopeial and scientific standards is needed to ensure safety and efficacy in the use of medicinal plants.