Chromatographic Study on Traditional Natural Preservatives Used for Palm Leaf Manuscripts in India

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Extracts from plants have been used traditionally for the preservation of palm leaf manuscripts in India. Although these methods are slowly being replaced by modern chemicals, art conservators still prefer herbal plant extracts as fungicides and insecticides. In this study, several traditional herbal extracts from the state of Odisha were studied using GC-MS and their long-term impact on palm leaf manuscripts was substantiated by visual observation. GC-MS results showed the presence of different herbal plant extracts from walnut fruit, Artemisia oil, cinnamon oil, equisetum stem, circium roots, Rhizophora leaf, tobacco leaf, and beggar-tick plant oil in palm leaf manuscripts. Illustrated manuscripts were also studied using FTIR spectroscopy which showed the presence of starch paste and pectin as binding media mixed in the pigments and writing inks for palm leaf manuscripts.</jats:p>

Biologically Plant-Based Pigments in Sustainable Innovations for Functional Textiles – The Role of Bioactive Plant Phytochemicals

“…The molecules of natural origin are biodegradable. Whereas the molecules of synthetic chemicals lack biodegradability and remain back in the environment releasing toxic fumes [29]. Moreover, the scientific research investigations accomplished on natural colors from plants indicate no possible health treat or toxicity to humans and animals alike [11].…”

Artefact Profiling: Panomics Approaches for Understanding the Materiality of Written Artefacts

“…An alternative may be to use small pieces that naturally fall off old objects for analysis. In most cases, about 2–5 mm 2 , respectively a few milligrams, are already sufficient to perform the corresponding analyses [ 19 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ].…”

“…The amount of sample required for metabolomics analysis can vary greatly when working destructively with fragments. While a few µg of sample material are sufficient for pyrolysis–gas chromatography (Py-GC-MS) analyses, 5–50 mg of the samples are required in most cases for gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS), or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy analyses [ 19 , 190 , 191 , 194 , 195 , 196 ]. It may be possible to further reduce the amount of sample required by using new technologies such as nanoLC-MS couplings [ 64 ].…”

“…The analysis of the genome, proteome and metabolome is particularly suitable for organic materials such as writing surfaces made of papyrus, paper, parchment, leather, plant leaves, wood and wood bark, bamboo, silk, tapa, amate, textiles, and wax as well as inks, pigments, or dyes containing organic components. In addition to biological identity and taxonomy, further research questions may concern the production process or conservation methods, e.g., palm leaves manuscripts are protected with various plant extracts, which can be easily identified by mass spectrometric metabolomics methods [ 19 ]. In addition, such studies can be used to record similarities and differences, for example, to determine whether certain fragments or pages belong together, or to assign geographical origins [ 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

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