Authors S. HOODA, K. KHAMBRA, N. YADAV & V. K. SIKKA
The study focused on the development of bacterial resistant cotton fabric using Aloe vera extract. Textiles are excellent substrate for bacterial growth and microbial proliferation under appropriate moisture, nutrients, and temperature conditions. In the ample of various finishes, importance is given to herbal antimicrobial finish since people take much care about health and hygiene. The herbal antimicrobial agent for textile material is an agent that destroys or inhibits the growth of micro-organism like bacteria, fungi, yeast, and algae. Natural fibers are more liable to bacterial attack than synthetic fibers due to their porous and hydrophilic nature. The structure of natural fibers retains water and oxygen along with nutrients, in that way offering optimal environment for microbial growth. On the other hand, direct contact with human body supplies warmth, humidity, and nutrients, i.e., provides a perfect environment and optimal conditions for bacterial growth. Micro-organism proliferation can cause malodors, stains, and damage of mechanical properties of the component fibers that could cause a product to be less effective in its intended use. Additionally, may promote skin contamination, inflammation in sensitive people. As a result, the number of bio-functional textiles with an antimicrobial activity has increased considerably over the last few years. Some of the herbal compounds obtained from plants are well known for their antibacterial and anti-fungal activity. These natural products are abundantly available in nature and are widely distributed. These plant products are non-irritant to skin and non-toxic. Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis, Miller) belongs to the family Liliaceae. The activity of Aloe vera inner gel against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria has been demonstrated by several different methods. Antibacterial and antifungal properties of Aloe vera can be exploited in applications for medical textiles such as bandages, sutures, bioactive textiles, etc. Different attempt have been made to impart antibacterial finishing on textile using Aloe vera extract, Aloe vera treated scoured cotton fabric showed very good percentage of bacterial reduction as compared to Aloe vera treated grey cotton fabric. It may be due to reason that enzymatic scouring removes the natural impurities and increase the absorption rate of antimicrobial agents, pre-treated cotton with hydrogen peroxide prior to Aloe vera and turmeric application shows better antimicrobial activity as compared to untreated cotton (without pre-treatment), as pre-treatment leads to increase in hydrophilic nature of the fibre surface and antimicrobial activity. enzymatic treatment removes the fatty bonded layer of wool fibre and promote the absorption rate, hence antimicrobial activity.
