Extraction and chemical characterization of natural dye from western himalayan wild pomegranate peel for textile applications.

Natural dyes are emerging as sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to synthetic ones in many industries because of health, safety and ecological concerns. The textile sector, being a major producer of dye effluents, is significantly paying attention to eco-friendly organic dyes. This study aimed to extract, apply and characterize a natural dye from the fruit peel of a wild type of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) which is widely distributed in several ecological zones of Pakistan. The obtained dye was analyzed for phytochemical screening, UV vis-spectrophotometry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GCMS). Furthermore, the application of dye on cotton fabric was tested for color efficiencies in terms of fastness properties and CIE L* a* b* values. Three mordants alum, ferrous sulfate and gallnut powder were used for comparison with un-mordanted fabric dyeing. ATR-FTIR analysis was performed to confirm the interaction of dye compounds with cotton fabric with and without mordant. DPPH and MTT assays were employed to check the antioxidant potential and cytotoxicity of the dye. GCMS revealed the presence of 51 compounds with intense color yielding nature. FTIR analysis identifies O-H, C-H and C-O as major functional groups. This study is the first to characterize the Western Himalayan wild pomegranate fruit peel in Pakistan, revealing the high content of biochemical compounds dye potential and antioxidant activity. The overall results suggest that the peel extract of wild pomegranate is suitable for manufacturing ecofriendly dye for various industrial sectors including textiles, pharmaceuticals, food, and cosmetics, as a safer and sustainable alternative to non-biodegradable synthetic dyes.