The exploration of banana bunch as a new vegetable tanning agent

Recently, the green tannery is an issue that has been developed because it is known as a contributor of hazardous waste. The substitution of mineral tanning agents, such as chrome, with vegetable tanning agent is the best choice. Banana bunch has the potential to be an environmentally friendly tanning agent. This study aims to explore the banana bunch as a vegetable tanning agent for rabbit skin. The banana bunch was extracted using ethanol. The tannin quality of banana extract was determined by both qualitative and quantitative methods. The quality of leather tanned by the banana bunch was determined by chemical and physical properties. The qualitative results of the tannin content showed that the banana bunch had the tannin compounds, while quantitatively the tannin content was 4.1. Banana bunch has an inhibitory potential, indicating that the banana bunch can be an anti-bacterial. Besides, the chemical analysis showed that the tanning by banana bunch had a water content of 14.90±0.01, a water-soluble content of 3.55±0.01, the pH value of 3.42±0.03, and the degree of tannage of 52.47±2.29. Also, the physical quality of rabbit skin showed the tensile strength of 302.00 kg/cm2 and the elongation of 174.12±6.44. Based on these results, it shows that the extract of the banana bunch has the potential as a vegetable tanning agent. © 2020 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.