Advantages of Scutellaria baicalensis extracts over just baicalin in the ultrasonically assisted multi-functional treatment of linen fabrics

Abstract Recently plant extracts with intrinsic properties of green, safe and eco-friendly were more often integrated with textiles to endow the fabric with multi-functions such as anti-microbial, anti-oxidation and anti-ultraviolet. Therefore, it is worthwhile to study the role of active constituents in plant extracts on the functionalization of textiles. Herein, Scutellaria baicalensis (chinese skullcap) extracts (SBE) and its main active ingredient, baicalin, were effectively combined with linen fabric by means of impregnation and ultrasonic treatment respectively. The treated linen fabrics were characterized by SEM, FTIR, XRD, TGA, DTG analysis and the relevant functions such as anti-microbial activity, antioxidant activity and ultraviolet protection ability as well as durability of functionalities were also comparatively assessed. It was found that even with the same content of baicalin, the corresponding functions of the linen fabric treated by SBE are obviously better than treated by baicalin. The advantages of the SBE over just baicalin on the functionalization of linen fabric was analyzed and verified by experiments. The conclusion of this work will guide the quantitative addition of plant extracts on textile functional treatment. Graphic abstract