M. Saravanan and Bhaarathi Dhurai
Abstract
Dishcloth made up of cotton was reported to have very harmful attack of bacteria because of its usage and the environment it is being used. The dishcloth exposed to vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian kitchen environments supports the growth of bacteria/genus, namely Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Bacillus species, Enterococcus species and Streptococcus species. Ashwagandha was applied on the cloth, using two different concentrations, 4.57 % on the weight of the material (owm) and 6.66 % owm, both in the absence and presence of citric acid, following pad-dry-cure technique. Antibacterial test method [AATCC 147 2004 (disc diffusion method)] on these treated (unwashed) cloth samples proved that the Ashwagandha acts as a good antibacterial agent for dishcloth. The durability test carried out using ISO: 6330-1984E on the treated samples reveals that the antibacterial treatment carried out in the presence of citric acid could show up activity even after 15 washing cycles whereas, the samples treated in the absence of the acid could not withstand even a single wash.