Photolysis and Antimicrobial Activity of Hinokitiol in Antimicrobial/Deodorant Processed Textiles

The authors have developed an analytical method for hinokitiol using HPLC to determine its content in various textiles treated with it on the market and reported that hinokitiol was not detected in all of the textiles tested. Aiming to clarify the cause for the absence of hinokitiol, hiba oil, synthetic hinokitiol and hinoki leaf oil were microcapsulated and the sample fabrics were prepared by treating with each microcapsulated preparation. Then, the survival rate of hinokitiol in the treated fabric was determined after a light fastness test using a xenon-ark lamp. The results indicated that hinokitiol was much liable to photolysis. The antimicrobial activity of the treated fabrics with synthetic hinokitiol on S. aureus was higher after the light exposure during the test than before, suggesting the photolysis products of hinokitiol have higher antimicrobial activity than hinokitiol itself.