Natural Crude Dye from Cucurbita Pepo Leaves for Dying, Antimicrobial, and Antioxidant Activities

Abstract

Owing to environmental concerns, a great attention is given to use plant waste for obtaining natural dyes. Cucurbita pepo (C. pepo) is one of the most abundantly grown seasonal vegetable plants in Pakistan. However, its leaves are of no use after crop season, and consequently, they are usually discarded. Hence, in this study an attempt is made to extract dye from C. pepo leaves for dying textiles and antimicrobial applications. The fractionation of the obtained dye was done by column chromatography while TLC, UV-Vis and FTIR analyses were performed to further evaluate the composition and nature of the obtained dye. The principal constituents of the obtained dye such as alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, proteins and sugar were identified by chemical tests. The dye was successfully applied for dying of synthetic and cotton cloths which showed resistivity and high color fastness even after successive washings. Interestingly, the obtained dye changed color with change in temperature. For evaluating potential biomedical importance of the obtained dye, antibacterial and antioxidant activities were checked. Effective antioxidants as well as antimicrobial activity against E. coli were observed. From the present study, we concluded that the nature, composition, washing, and thermal stability, as well as the potential biomedical applicability of the obtained natural dye from C. Pepo leaves, can be a better option for commercialization in future.