Extraction of juglone from Pterocarya fraxinifolia leaves for dyeing, anti-fungal finishing, and solar UV protection of wool

In many countries, the search for new sources of natural colourants has recently been intense. This paper deals with the extraction procedure, dyeing behaviour, antifungal activity, and ultraviolet protection of Pterocarya fraxinifolia as a new natural source of dyes. Juglone was found as the main extracted compound after characterisation by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Mordanting and subsequent dyeing of wool with extracted juglone were then performed to study the dyeability and antifungal activities. Three metal salts, aluminium sulfate, copper sulfate, and iron sulfate, were used as chelating materials. The colorimetric properties of samples were evaluated using a reflectance spectrophotometer. Furthermore, the washing and light fastness properties were tested according to ISO 105-CO3: 1989 and ISO 105-B01: 2014. Interestingly, we found P. fraxinifolia to be a source of strong antifungal compounds against microorganisms. Extracted juglone also exhibited strong protection activity against solar ultraviolet rays.