Antifungal Finishing of Fabrics with Natural Dyes from Aerial Biomass of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton

Increased environmental consciousness coupled with detrimental impacts of synthetic dyes and consumers’ concern over hygiene, cleanliness and protection, the demand for functional textiles has increased in recent years. Antimicrobial finishing imparts protective properties to textiles besides attractive shades. The study was aimed to determine the antifungal activity of colourants from aerial biomass of Perilla frutescens and dyed fabrics against pathogenic fungi infesting textiles materials. Antifungal activity of natural dye extracted from aerial biomass of Perilla frutescens against the selected pathogenic fungi viz., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium moniliforme, Fusarium solani, and Penicillium decumbens was evaluated by agar-well diffusion method. The MIC of the natural dye against each of the test fungi was determined by broth dilution method. Dyed silk, wool and cotton fabrics were also evaluated for antifungal activity by standard method. The natural dye showed antifungal activity against all the five test fungi in a concentration dependent manner. The treatment dose of 1000μg/ml recorded the highest growth reduction in all the test fungi, nearly at par with the positive control. The MICs of natural dye against the test fungi ranged from 32.39 to 36.50μg/ml. All kinds of dyed fabrics also showed remarkable antifungal efficacy against the test fungi. Dyed wool fabric exhibited the maximum growth reduction followed by silk and cotton. The result of the study demonstrated the remarkable antifungal activity of natural dye from Perilla frutescens aerial biomass and dyed fabrics. Therefore, Perilla frutescens can be considered as a potential source of natural dye with functional properties and can be used in protective finishing of different kinds of textile fabrics.