INVESTIGATION OF EFFECT OF NATURAL ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS ON KITCHEN BORNE BACTERIA

Abstract

Health and hygiene are the primary requirements for human beings to live comfortably and work with maximum efficiency. The study conducted focuses preliminarily on the development of herbal finishes for conventional cotton terry fabrics used in kitchens to suppress the kitchen borne bacteria. An investigation was undertaken to determine the bacterial contamination using 6 samples from vegetarian and non vegetarian kitchens of common houses and hotels were collected and inferred presence of bacterial species namely Moraxella sp, Staphylococcus sp, Escherichia sp, Pseudomonas sp, Klebsiella sp, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumonia. Natural antimicrobial plants Syzygium aromaticum (Ginger) and Zingiber officinale (Clove) were selected, and their bioactive compounds were extracted by Soxhlet and applied in different proportions on 100% white cotton terry fabrics by using pad- dry- cure method. Five samples were produced in different proportions of Ginger and Clove. SEM and FTIR investigations clearly ensure the presence of the herbal in the fabrics. The antibacterial activity of the fabrics were assessed using standard AATCC 147 test methods and the inhibition zone ranges from 1 mm to 7 mm. The ginger 25% clove 75% sample had better antibacterial activity against all the bacteria when compared to the other samples. The finish is also evaluated by real time usage.