Ewa Marcinkowska’s research while affiliated with Krakow University of Economics and other places

The article presents research findings on the content of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, and zinc in extracts from leathers, artificial leathers intended for footwear components, and textiles. After extracting the metals using an artificial acidic sweat solution, their contents were quantitatively determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. In the cotton textiles, the metal contents were in accordance with the OEKO-TEX limits, while regarding the artificial leathers, only the acrylic knit fur had a too high chromium content (1.1 mg/kg) as compared with the requirements of the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX for products intended for children (< 1.0 mg/kg). The chromium content in lining and upper leather (> 228.0 mg/kg) exceeds the limits for children’s products (< 2.0 mg/kg), but also the less restrictive ones for other products (< 200.0 mg/kg). Regarding the other metals, the leathers met the OEKO-TEX requirements. Approved materials may have elevated heavy metal contents, as demonstrated for chromium. The presence of heavy metals in too large amounts in products is a serious problem due to their allergenic and toxic effect. Therefore, action should be taken aimed at more effective detection and elimination of such products from markets and at reducing the use of chemicals containing harmful metals in manufacturing processes.

The prevention of decrease of quality caused by microbial activity in footwear materials entails the use of biocides. However, these substances may pose a hazard to humans and to the natural environment. The paper presents the results of antimicrobial effect investigation for cowhide leather treated with oregano oil. In these studies oil was applied by spraying onto the finished leather surface and examined to determine its antimicrobial activity by using the Agar Diffusion Plate Test. These results were compared with those where a cowhide leather was treated with oil at the stage of fatliquoring. In addition, the oregano oil toxicity level was assessed and compared with biocides used in the tanning industry. Introducing oregano oil into the leather at the stage of fatliquoring provides a better antimicrobial effect than by spraying, however hygienic finishing of leather can be obtained by introducing oil into the raw material by these both methods. The oregano oil is characterised by the lowest number of hazards and toxicity as compared with commercial biocides. The use of essential oils as natural biocides in the tanning industry seems to be especially important and suitable solution considering the harmful effects of synthetic biocides to humans and the environment.

W warunkach narastającej konkurencji, szybko rozwijających się nowoczesnych technologii oraz zmieniających się oczekiwań konsumentów, współpraca pomiędzy światem nauki i praktyki gospodarczej nabiera szczególnie ważnego znaczenia. Można nawet stwierdzić, że jest ona obecnie postrzegana jako niezbędny element rozwoju przedsiębiorstw, a także ośrodków naukowych, zarówno jako placówek badawczych, jak i akademickich. Współpraca pomiędzy ośrodkami naukowo-akademickimi a przedsiębiorcami przejawia się w różny sposób i na różnych polach. Widoczna jest ona zarówno w podejściu do kształcenia studentów w uczelniach wyższych, uwzględniającego w coraz większym stopniu oczekiwania przedsiębiorców względem nowej kadry pracowniczej, jak i w podejmowaniu wspólnych projektów badawczych pomiędzy tymi dwoma stronami. Ośrodki naukowe i akademickie zajmujące się problematyką szeroko pojętej jakości wyrobów, w tym towaroznawcy, materiałoznawcy, marketingowcy są dla przedsiębiorców kopalnią nie tylko szerokiej wiedzy teoretycznej, ale i wielu nowatorskich oraz praktycznych rozwiązań, których implementacja może przyczynić się do poprawy jakości wytwarzanych przez nich wyrobów i spełnienia oczekiwań coraz bardziej wymagających konsumentów. W niniejszej monografii zebrano 14 oryginalnych prac napisanych przez autorów wywodzących się z ośrodków naukowych z całej Polski, zajmujących się w swojej pracy badawczej zagadnieniami dotyczącymi produktów nieżywnościowych oraz opakowań. Głównym celem tego opracowania jest zaprezentowanie innowacyjnych rozwiązań stosowanych w odniesieniu do wybranych produktów tej kategorii, a także kierunków badań nad poprawą właściwości użytkowych oraz trwałości tych produktów. Prace składające się na treść niniejszej monografii nie wypełniają oczywiście tej rozległej i wieloaspektowej problematyki. Wskazują jednak na aktualne trendy badań, którymi zajmują się naukowcy różnych ośrodków towaroznawczych naszego kraju.

Essential oils introduced into raw materials in the technological process enable leather to gain antimicrobial properties. These properties were examined toward microorganisms potentially pathogenic to humans and causing biodegradation of leather. The article presents an assessment of antimicrobial activity of cowhide lining leathers fatliquored with the addition of oregano oil at concentrations of 1% and 3% per leather weight after one month storage. Additionally, the durability of this activity for leathers with oregano oil at concentration of 3% was confirmed after 12 months. Antimicrobial effect was tested according to PN-EN ISO 20645:2006 Textile fabrics - Determination of Antibacterial Activity - Agar Diffusion Plate Test. Furthermore, to verify the results of antimicrobial durability of leathers within one year after fatliquoring, the method according to ISO 22196:2011 Measurement of antibacterial activity on plastics and other non-porous surfaces was used. Antimicrobial effect of finished leathers against bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, yeast Candida albicans and filamentous fungus Scopulariopsis brevicaulis was tested. The obtained results indicated that lining leathers enriched with oregano oil at concentration of 3% per leather weight is characterized by its good and durable antimicrobial effect persisting even one year after adding oil into leather. The results presented in this paper is a continuation of previous studies on animal leather enriching with essential oils.

The hygienic properties of lining leathers can be improved significantly by introducing oregano essential oil into leathers. This is because adding antiseptic oil makes leathers more resistant to microorganisms that are potentially harmful to humans and cause damage to animal leathers. The paper presents the results of tests to check selected mechanical properties – tensile strength, elongation and tear load – of leathers fatliquored with oregano essential oil at a concentration of 3% w/w and without this treatment. The tests were carried out on the Instron 5544 testing machine. The leathers enriched with oil met the standard requirements set for lining leathers for of the parameters: tensile strength and elongation. Statistical analysis using the chi-squared, Hartley and Fisher-Snedecor tests at an assumed significance level of α = 0.05 revealed that leather enriched with oregano essential oil has a significantly higher tensile strength than leather fatliquored without this oil, while both leather samples showed no significant difference in elongation and tear load. Thus, it can be concluded that adding 3% w/w of oil will have not have an adverse effect on basic mechanical properties of leathers.

To prevent losses caused by microbiological decay of leathers during technological processing, biocidal and biostatic chemical agents are used. They are introduced into the material structure at various stages of the tanning process. It has been shown that some of these agents are not neutral to human health and to the environment. Thus> substitutes for chemical preparations of appropriate efficiency in control of bacteria and fungi, but being safe to humans and the environment are sought. Suitability has been adequately confirmed by research performed worldwide on essential oils. In this paper antimicrobial resistance of lining leathers protected with essential oils extracted from plants Cinnamomum verum, Eucalyptus globulus, Origanum vulgare, Leptospermum scoparium and Thymus vulgaris is investigated. They were introduced into the leather at the fatliquoring stage at 5% per weight of leather. Antimicrobial activity of samples oiled with essential oils and controls (without these oils) was evaluated against bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and yeasts Candida albicans after 1 and 6 months. The growth inhibition zone around leather samples and microorganism growth, or lack of growth, within the sample-medium contact zone was determined. Investigations have confirmed the efficiency of three of five proposed oils: oregano, cinnamon and thyme. The strongest and most long- lasting antimicrobial activity was observed for leathers preserved with oregano oil. Insufficient effect was found for leathers oiled with manuka and eucalyptus oils.

This monograph is one of eight books entitled “Commodity Science in Research and Practice”. It consists of 20 chapters written by the Authors from various commodity centres in the world, associated at the International Society of Commodity Science and Technology (IGWT) headquartered in Vienna. The common topics joining all monograph chapters are non-food product quality and innovativeness. The results of researches on innovative solutions in quality shaping and control within selected product groups such as textiles, cosmetics, detergents, paints and engine oils and marketing aspects related to consumer’s behaviours on the non-food product market as well as enterprise strategies in launching innovative products on the market are presented.