Multifunctional Finishing of Cotton Fabric Using a Fagonia arabica–Clove Oil Blend for Sustainable Bio-Active Textile Applications

Rising antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infections have intensified the demand for antibacterial medical textiles that avoid metal-based or synthetic biocides. The present study is about an entirely plant-derived antibacterial and antioxidant finish for cotton fabric, using Fagonia arabica extract and clove oil as bioactive agents and tragacanth gum as natural polymeric binder. These bioactive loadings were applied via pad-dry-cure at varying percentages (1–5%). FTIR spectroscopy verified the successful bioactive deposition, while polarized optical microscopy showed that the structure of the fibers changed as a function of the amount of extract used, with Fagonia arabica extract causing swelling of the fibers and clove oil forming a coalescing surface film to provide complete web-like fiber coverage at the highest loading. Essential comfort characteristics were maintained together with functionalization, as all treated samples showed hydrophilic wettability with absorption times ranging from 1.8 to 7.5 s depending on different formulations. The Fagonia arabica–clove oil formulation (5% each) demonstrated the best antibacterial activity (in terms of zone of inhibition) and antioxidant activity radical-scavenging capacity using ABTS radical assay as compared to the clove-oil-only and Fagonia-only formulations. Beyond their antibacterial and antioxidant activities, the formulation of Fagonia arabica–clove oil proved to be effective (more than 69%) in all concentrations in repelling mosquitoes, indicating an additional protective function that is useful in environments where insects transmit infections. These results prove the feasibility of a completely natural bioactive-and-binder strategy that can provide relevant antibacterial, antioxidant, and mosquito repellency activity without sacrificing comfort, providing a scalable and sustainable paradigm for antimicrobial, antioxidant, and mosquito-repellent medical textiles.