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Sustainable processing of cotton fabrics with plant-based biomaterials Sapindus mukorossi and Acacia concinna for health-care applications
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Researchers investigated sustainable processing of cotton fabrics using plant-based biomaterials Sapindus mukorossi and Acacia concinna as alternatives to fossil-derived synthetic dyes and additives, which contribute to microfiber and microplastic contamination of the food chain. The study evaluated cytotoxic, carcinogenic, and genotoxic risks of conventional textile chemicals and assessed the plant-based alternatives as safer substitutes.
Fossils-derived textile dyes, additives and fibers have eventually found their way into the human food chain in the form of microfibers and microplastics. The clothing being second skin is exposed to textile dyes and additives that are cytotoxic, carcinogenic, genotoxic and mutagenic causing DNA damage. Thus, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) encourage to develop and utilize plant-based sustainable bio-colours and bio-additives for textile processing. The research experiments with ancient herbal biomaterials Sapindus mukorossi (Areetha nut) and Acacia concinna (Shikakai) and establishes them as a potentially safe and eco-friendly source of saponins for processing cotton fabrics. Powders extracted from the herbs, and their treated fabrics were characterized by Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF SIMs) that confirmed the presence of the bio-surfactants and healing bio-active components in herbs and its treated cotton fabrics. They impart functional antimicrobial, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties to textile fabrics. The functional phytochemicals saponins were identified as, Oleanolic acid, Diosgenin, Soyasaponin, Sarsasapogenin and Ginsenosides. Eventually, the bio-material engineering of the herbs for functionality in textiles was established. For future study, detailed histology based in vitro and situ clinical studies is suggested for their potential application into medicinal textiles.
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