Antimicrobial Properties of Flax Fibers in the Enzyme Retting Process

*Key Laboratory of Processing Agricultural Products of Heilongjiang Province, Qiqihar University, 161006 Qiqihar, P. R. China Corresponding Author: Liu Xiaolan E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Abstract “GB/T 20944.3-2008--Part 3: Shake flask method” was applied to assess the antimicrobial property of flax fibres. The antimicrobial efficiency of flax fibre was represented as the absolute antimicrobial rate and relative antimicrobial rate. Cotton fibre served as a contrast in relation to the antimicrobial rate. The retted flax fibre showed an absolute antimicrobial rate against E.coli and S. aureus, but only presented a relative antimicrobial rate against S. cerevisiae. The contents of pectic substances of flax straw such as cerolipoid, hydrotrope, pectin, hemicellulose and lignin declined during flax retting, especially lignin, whose content declined from 24% to 7.13%, and gaps appeared between the fibre bundles. Consequently the antimicrobial efficiency of flax fibre decreased gradually. This experiment confirmed the existence of antibacterial substances, but exactly what compounds associated with flax exhibiting antimicrobial properties is not discussed.