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

Abstract

Synergic antibacterial properties of wild turmeric (<em>Curcuma aromatica </em>Salisb, WT) and holy basil (<em>Ocimum Tenuiflorum </em>Linn, HB) and their&nbsp; combination (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100) on cotton knitted fabric against <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> (<em>S.aureus</em>) and <em>Escherichia coli</em> (<em>E.coli</em>) bacterial strains have been studied. The effect of aqueous and methanol extract of WT, HB and their combination has also been studied separately. It is observed that the methanol extract of 50:50 proportion yields minimum inhibitory concentration value against <em>S.aureus</em> and <em>E.coli </em>bacterial strains.&nbsp; The gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) test results reveal that the active components which contribute to the antibacterial 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-treated single jersey cotton knitted fabrics have been finished with the herbal extracts combination by maintaining the common process parameters. The AATCC 100 test results reveal that the 50:50 (WT: HB) combination exhibits good antibacterial activity against <em>S.aureus</em> and <em>E.coli</em> 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 antibacterial textile products.