Polygonum hydropiper in goatskin preservation: A sustainable leather processing approach

In conventional preservation of hides and skins, the use of NaCl (50%) evolves enormous salinity and total dissolved solids (TDS) in soaking effluent during leather processing. Plant-based skins preservation is a sustainable solution in reducing salinity and TDS from leather industry to replace conventional curing. In this study, the application of Polygonum hydropiper-based dry powder paste over flesh side of goatskin following 10%, 10%, and 15% paste mixing with 5%, 10%, and 5% salt, respectively, was done with periodical monitoring of organoleptic properties, moisture content, hydrothermal stability, and bacterial load. As compared to conventional curing, these Phyto-based salt minimized curing formulations had preserved goatskin for 30 days, resulting in a maximum 81% and 52% salinity and TDS reduction, respectively, in soaking liquor. The preserved skins were processed into shoe-upper leather in the same manner, and the ultimately produced leather offered the equivalent physical qualities. SEM images corroborated the structural orientation of collagen fibers was more suited than leather produced from salt-preserved skins. The correlation analysis demonstrated strong interdependencies among goatskin preservation efficacy metrics, particularly moisture content and hydrothermal stability, with the highest correlation (r = −0.919). Phytochemicals like alkaloids, flavonoids, coumarin, quinones, terpenoids, tannin, and phlobatannin were present in P. hydropiper extracts. The acetonic and water extract of the examined plant demonstrated modest antibacterial efficacy (11 mm) against Staphylococcus aureus compared to chloramphenicol (27 mm). Therefore, P. hydropiper can be a potential curing agent with comparable leather strength while minimizing the environmental impact and endorsing sustainable developments of leather industry. [Display omitted] •Sustainable goatskin preservation was done using P. hydropiper plant.•Salinity and TDS were reduced by 81% and 52%, respectively, in soaking effluent.•Acetone and water extracts of P. hydropiper showed antimicrobial sensitivity against S. aureus.•P. hydropiper extracts have the presence of different bioactive compounds.