Use of rooted hydrophytes in developing innovative functional textiles

Abstract

The study attempts to experiment with the nelumbo nucifera (pink lotus) category of rooted hydrophytes. In India, a lotus flower has a huge economical importance that it is used for worshipping. It was observed that lotus cultivators generally cut the flowers with little length of the petioles leaving the rest as a waste in the pond. Petioles contain bundle of microfibers and natural gummy substance called as mucilage which is useful for medicinal applications. In recent times, resistance against the bacteria has become a need of an hour. Researchers have developed the method for preparing non-woven sheet from lotus fiber. This sheet was subjected to qualitative antibacterial test (AATCC 147) against four organisms - Staphylococcus aureas, Klebsiella pneumonia, Candida Albicans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The results have shown positive bacteriostatic antibacterial activity against all the above organisms which proves that lotus fiber can be further taken for medical textiles.