Synergic antibacterial effect of Curcuma aromatica Salisb and Ocimumtenuiflorum Linn herbal extract combinations on treated cotton knitted fabrics against selective bacterial strains

Abstract

Synergic antibacterial properties of wild turmeric (Curcuma aromatica Salisb, WT) and holy basil (Ocimum TenuiflorumLinn, HB) and their combination (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100) on cotton knitted fabric against Staphylococcusaureus (S.aureus) and Escherichia coli (E.coli) bacterial strains have been studied. The effect of aqueous and methanolextract of WT, HB and their combination has also been studied separately. It is observed that the methanol extract of 50:50proportion yields minimum inhibitory concentration value against S.aureus and E.coli bacterial strains. The gaschromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) test results reveal that the active components which contribute to theantibacterial performance are present both in individual and 50:50 proportion of herbal extracts. In 50:50 (WT:HB)proportion, besides the active components of wild turmeric and holy basil, new compounds are also identified. Pre-treatedsingle jersey cotton knitted fabrics have been finished with the herbal extracts combination by maintaining the commonprocess parameters. The AATCC 100 test results reveal that the 50:50 (WT: HB) combination exhibits good antibacterialactivity against S.aureus and E.coli bacterial strains and the results correlate with the MIC test results and GC-MS analysis.The test results explore a new combination of herbal based antibacterial finishing agent for the development of antibacterialtextile products.