USE OF PRICKLY CHAFF (Achyranthes aspera) AS HERBAL ANTIMICROBIAL FINISH ON COTTON FABRICS

摘要

An innovative approach to impart antimicrobial property to textile fabrics is to treat the fabrics with the plant extracts that contain the active substances. The natural antimicrobial substances are not only ecofriendly but also renewable. Extract of Leaves of Prickly chaff was used as antimicrobial finish on fabrics. Methanolic extracts of prickly chaff were applied onto cotton fabrics using citric acid as cross-linking agent. The antimicrobial activity of the finished fabric was assessed for continuous number of washings against bacteria that normally exist in the textile environment like Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538 was used as a representative Gram positive organism) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 11230 was used as a representative Gram negative organism). Antimicrobial assessment was done with Quantitative method — AATCC 100 and Qualitative methods -^sParallel Streak (AATCC 147) and Agar Diffusion method (SN 195920). High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) technique was used to detect the active substance in Prickly chaff. The active substance responsible for antimicrobial activity was found to be Betaine. Bacterial reduction percentage of the sample treated with prickly chaff extract was found to be 87%.