Investigation of extraction processes and phytochemical compositions of various plant extracts to develop curative medical bandages

Abstract

In the last couple of decades, technical textiles have been the focus area in the field of textile technology and textile engineering. Textiles as a sector have grown phenomenally and applied in wide range of technical fields creating avenues for cross-functional development between various fields of engineering and basic textile engineering. An attempt has been made through this research work in the area of applications of plants and their preparations, in the field of medical textiles, where knowledge on ethnopharmacology, phytopharmacognosy and textile engineering are essential. In this research work, investigation has been carried out on various plants suitable for the development of curative bandages. Herbal extracts that are effective in the treatment of lymphological, phlebological and muscularskeletal disorders have been chosen for application on bandage substrates. A novel pyrolyser using slow pyrolysis as its working principle was designed and developed for this research work. A novel pyrolyser was designed and developed based on the principle of slow pyrolysis to improve upon the traditional extraction process after a thorough study and analysis. Dodonaea viscosa, Ziziphus jujuba, Moringa oleifera, Cedrus deodara and Celastrus paniculatus were finalized for this research work. Adaptation of slow pyrolysis as a method to extract oily substances from parts of plant for medicinal use, done in this research, is a pioneering work in the field of analytical and applied pyrolysis. This research has substantiated the historical use of the extracts of selected plants by identifying the curative compounds in the extracts and is a development in the field of ethnopharmacology. Coating of plant extract on the textile bandage imparts additional functionalities like antibacterial property and curative ability which are added characteristics to the basic textile material. Augmentation of bandage functionality, demonstrated in this research, is a step forward in the field of curative textiles.