Colourless natural anti-moth agents for woollens

Abstract

Woollen products are quickly infested with moth under favourable conditions. Some of the natural dyes have antimoth efficacy, but they reproduce limited colour shades. To identify a colourless natural source for antimoth properties, Datura stramonium L. (Datura) was taken. On a weight basis, 43.56% colourless extract yield of datura seeds was obtained. The woollen fabric was treated with extract to study antimoth efficacy by standard method and compared with synthetic antimoth agent ‘Eulon’. The antimoth efficacy was found to be poor in datura seed extract alone as well as with alum and ferrous sulphate. Treatment of the seed extract with stannous chloride showed excellent antimoth efficacy (0.19%), equivalent to commercial antimoth agent “Eulon” (0.17%). The natural antimoth extract obtained from datura seeds avert moth attack on woollen fabrics and can be used for industrial application.