Eco-Friendly Antibacterial Finish from Ghamra and Apamarga Leaf Extract for Textile Application

The aim of the present study was to develop eco-friendly antibacterial finish from Ghamra and Apamarga leaf extract and its application on textile. Aqueous and methanol extracts from Ghamra and Apamarga leaf had been applied to cotton fabric using pad dry cure method. Antibacterial efficacy of finished fabric samples were tested against Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and counted quantitatively by AATCC-100 test method. For testing the efficacy of finish, the samples were inoculated with selected bacterium and further tested to check their bacterial resistance by calculating the percentage reduction in bacterial count. The observations were taken after 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours of inoculation. The results revealed that samples finished with Ghamra and Apamarga leaf extracts showed 100% reduction after 24 hours of inoculation against both bacterial strains, respectively. After 48 hours, it gradually decreased and after 96 hours it decreased to 94.5% and 94.1% against Bacillus cereus and 94.2% and 94% against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in treated samples, respectively. The results also indicated that samples finished with Ghamra and Apamarga leaf extracts provided excellent ultraviolet protection, i.e. 44.51 and 45.37 as exhibited by higher UPF values. The surface morphological studies using SEM showed some fibrillation.