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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Chem.
Sec. Green and Sustainable Chemistry
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1437277

Extraction and characterization of natural fibers from Pulicaria gnaphalodes plant and effect of alkali treatment on their physicochemical and antioxidant properties

Provisionally accepted
Mohammed H. ALSAFRAN Mohammed H. ALSAFRAN Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni Julna M. Haneesh Julna M. Haneesh Deepak M. Kasote Deepak M. Kasote *
  • Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The study aimed to extract and characterize natural fibers from Pulicaria gnaphalodes (Vent.) Boiss. plants and assess the impact of alkali treatment on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of P. gnaphalodes fibers. Fibers were extracted from dried P. gnaphalodes aerial parts by grinding with an average yield of 18.1%. Physicochemical and FTIR analysis revealed that the hemicellulose was mostly lost during alkali treatment. Results of the X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the crystallinity and thermal stability of P. gnaphalodes fibers were considerably increased after alkali treatment. In antioxidant activity assessment studies, raw fibers of P. gnaphalodes showed significantly higher radical scavenging and reducing power potentials compared to the alkalitreated samples, indicating that the majority of antioxidant components such as lignin and other polyphenols were lost from P. gnaphalodes fibers during alkali treatment. In conclusion, the promising antioxidant activity of raw P. gnaphalodes can be utilized in developing functional materials, particularly for cosmetic and wound healing applications.

    Keywords: Pulicaria gnaphalodes, natural fiber, Alkali treatment, antioxidant activity, lignocellulosic

    Received: 23 May 2024; Accepted: 16 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 ALSAFRAN, Sadasivuni, Haneesh and Kasote. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Deepak M. Kasote, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

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