Abstract
Owing to environmental concerns, a great attention is given to use plant waste for obtaining
natural dyes. Cucurbita pepo (C. pepo) is one of the most abundantly grown seasonal
vegetable plants in Pakistan. However, its leaves are of no use after crop season, and consequently,
they are usually discarded. Hence, in this study an attempt is made to extract dye from
C. pepo leaves for dying textiles and antimicrobial applications. The fractionation of the obtained
dye was done by column chromatography while TLC, UV-Vis and FTIR analyses were performed
to further evaluate the composition and nature of the obtained dye. The principal constituents
of the obtained dye such as alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, proteins and sugar were identified
by chemical tests. The dye was successfully applied for dying of synthetic and cotton
cloths which showed resistivity and high color fastness even after successive washings. Interestingly,
the obtained dye changed color with change in temperature. For evaluating potential biomedical
importance of the obtained dye, antibacterial and antioxidant activities were checked.
Effective antioxidants as well as antimicrobial activity against E. coli were observed. From the
present study, we concluded that the nature, composition, washing, and thermal stability, as well
as the potential biomedical applicability of the obtained natural dye from C. Pepo leaves, can be
a better option for commercialization in future.