Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p13512"

In order to develop safer textile materials, ecological manufacturing processes and to protect biodiversity, it is important to develop better and more organic production methods. Many plants and fungi used for natural dyes contain biologically active compounds. The antimicrobial properties of natural dyes have been studied, but their toxic effects have hardly been examined. The purpose of this study was to analyse the toxicity of plant and fungal dyes and dyed fabrics based on pre-collected observation material. The effects of ethanol extracts of Cortinarius semisanguineus, Tapinella atrotomentosa, Tanacetum vulgare (tansy) and Salix (willow) and dyed wool were determined by statistical tests. The viability of the cultured Hepa-1 cells were investigated after one and three days of exposure. The effects were found to be more toxic with higher ethanol concentrations. T. atrotomentosa and T. vulgare were the most cytotoxic natural dyes. C. semisanguineus and Salix dyes were at the most mildly harmful. Fabric samples did not show significant toxicity. At the highest non-toxic ethanol concentrations (2%) all dyed fabrics were only mildly toxic. Based on this analysis, the samples dyed with natural dyes did not differ from the effects of untreated wool.