STUDY ON ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF COTTON, BAMBOO AND SOYABEAN FABRICS WITH HERBAL FINISHING

Abstract

Increasing global research in textiles has created many new applications. The application of innovative finishes to textiles is one such area. Rapid growth
in this has generated many opportunities and new end uses. Textiles with improved antimicrobial functionality find variety of applications in health and
hygiene products, garments worn close to the skin and in other medical applications for infection control and as barrier material. The present study aims
at developing eco-friendly natural antimicrobial finish from plant extracts for textile application. Some selective plants such as Asteraceae (Vettukaya
Thalai), Terminalia chebula (Kadukai), Coleus aromaticos (Karpuravalli), Aloe barbadensis (Aloe Vera), Ocimum tenuiflorum (Tulsi) and Cymbopogon
flexuosus (Lemon Grass Oil) have good antimicrobial activities. Their extracts are applied to Cotton, Bamboo and Soya bean fabrics. An extensive
study is conducted to access the antimicrobial effectiveness of the fabrics finished with the extracts of herbs by employing standard test method (AATCC
– 147, 2004). From the results, it is concluded that the three fabrics treated with the said six herbs has remarkable Antimicrobial Activity.