Microencapsulation of Herbs for Wound Care Textiles

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Among the various antimicrobial agents available today, the natural plant products comprise the major segment. The natural antimicrobial agents derived from herbs could be the promising candidates for medical and healthcare textiles, mainly due to their ecofriendliness. Thousands of herbs, which have antibiotic, therapeutic, and wound healing properties are available in India. In the present work, the antibacterial activites of Ficus bengalensis, Areca catechu and Cleome viscosa were studied in vitro on different wound causing pathogens. Both the morphological and biochemical analysis of the wound causing pathogens were carried out before they were isolated, purified, and identified. The wound pathogens were identified to belong to Staphylococcus, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Serratia, Pseudomonas, Bacillus and Proteus genus. Different combinations, such as 1:1:1, 1:2:1, 1:1:2 of the selected herbs were prepared and assessed for their antibacterial activity. The herbal combination of 1:1:1 exhibited higher zone of inhibition against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The herbal extract of this combination (1:1:1) was microencapsulated and applied onto the air plasma treated polypropylene nonwoven fabric. The antibacterial activity and the wash durability of the microcapsule-finished fabric were evaluated.

Superficial wounds; Bacterial predominants; Polypropylene; Microencapsulation; Ionic gelation