Finding propolis used outside of the body in an unorthodox manner as a "green solution" is innovative. The first study of its kind, discovered Propolis enables antibacterial, UV and water repellency in cotton textiles. Of course, Stradivari also used an innovative approach in protecting his precious violins with a coating of propolis...
Propolis
Induced Antibacterial Activity and Other Technical Properties of Cotton
Textiles
Int J BiolMacromol, 2013 May 8
Propolis is
a gum gathered by honey bees from various plants; the honey bees use propolis
to seal holes in their honey combs, smooth out the internal wall and protect
the entrance against intruders. It is composed of 50% resin (flavonoids and
related phenolic acid), 30% wax, 10% essential oils., 5% pollen and 5% various
organic components. As a natural mixture, propolis is widely used in medicine
and cosmetics and food. So far no attempts have been yet made to make use of
propolis in the realm of textile finishing .
Current
work presents the first systemic study targeted to build up a scientific basis
for production of cotton textiles having antibacterial activity and other
useful properties by making use of propolis as eco-friendly finish within the
scope of green strategy.
Propolis
extract solution (70/30 ethanol/water) of 10% concentration was prepared as the
stock. Different amounts of the latter were used along with a crosslinking
agent and catalyst for treatment of cotton fabrics as per pad-dry-cure
technique. Antibacterial activity of the so treated fabrics was obtained
through monitoring the efficiency of the interaction of propolis with cotton
cellulose. This interaction was expressed as inhibition zone diameter after the
treated fabrics were exposed to (G +ve) and (G-ve) bacteria .
Other
properties include crease recovery, tensile strength and elongation at break.
Factors affecting these properties such as type, nature and concentration of
the crosslinking agent, concentration, of propolis, and conditions of curing
were investigated. In addition characterization of the propolis containing
modified cotton fabrics including demonstration of the antibacterial activity,
SEM, FTIR, durability to washing, UV protection and water repellency were
performed.
Based on
results obtained, it is concluded that application of propolis along with
glyoxal and Al2(SO4)3 catalyst using pad-dry (3min./80°C), cure(5/140°C) bring
about cotton textile with superior antibacterial activity, water repellent and
ease of care characteristics as well as UV Protection. Tentative mechanism of
the reaction of propolis with cotton in presence of glyoxal was also reported.
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