Sustainable Dyeing of Silk Fabrics with Natural Extract from Seabuckthorn Leaves for UV-Protective and Antimicrobial Textiles

This study was performed to suggest a novel method of sustainably dyeing textiles with biofunctions for skin health by using natural seabuckthorn leaf extract. Mongolian seabuckthorn leaves were extracted in hot water to create a solid dye powder to be characterized by UV/Vis and FT-IR, and its biological activities were examined. A silk woven fabric was dyed with the seabuckthorn leaf extract under a variety of conditions to identify optimum dyeing conditions along with color fastness. To assess the skin-friendly functions of the dyed fabric, its UV-protective properties and antimicrobial activities were investigated quantitatively. As a result, the fabric showed maximum dye uptake (K/S) under the conditions of 80 ℃ and 60 min, which was improved under acidic conditions. The dyeing fastness mostly showed good and excellent grades in perspiration, rubbing, and dry cleaning, while it showed a fair grade in fastness to light. The silk dyed at 30% or higher concentrations showed superior UV-protective properties and provided excellent antimicrobial efficacy (99.9% bacterial reduction rate) against both S. aureus and K. pneumoniae. These results could be utilized in designing biofunctional textiles by natural dyeing with seabuckthorn leaf extract.