Coloration and Functional Finishing of Wool via Prangos ferulacea Plant Colorants and Bioactive Agents: Colorimetric, Fastness, Antibacterial, and Antioxidant Studies

In the present research, an attempt was made to investigate the possibility of the use of flavonoid-based plant colorants and bioactive agents for the development of an antimicrobial and antioxidant wool textile with acceptable colorimetric and fastness characteristics. Practically, a range of eco-friendly colors was developed of varying hues and tones using 75% (o.w.f.) of Prangos ferulacea natural dye extract in conjunction with different metal salt mordants (aluminium sulfate, copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, stannous chloride, nickel chloride, and cobalt sulfate). The effect of different mordanting methods (Pre-, meta-, and post-mordanting) was also assessed on the color and fastness properties of dyed wool yarns. The color properties were investigated in terms of CIELab (L^*, a^*, b^*, C^*, and h^o) and color strength (K/S) values. Light, washing, and rubbing fastness properties were evaluated as per ISO standard test methods. The antibacterial action against two bacterial strains (E. coli and S. aureus) and the free radical scavenging power of dyed wool yarns were recorded with exceptionally high values. Among different metal-mordanted samples, the introduction of Fe²⁺ and Cu²⁺ ions enhanced the color depth and fastness properties the most with a semi-durable antimicrobial and antioxidant finish with around 80% retention of functional properties after 20 continuous washing cycles.