Assessment of the Impact of Different Treatments on the Technological and Antifungal Properties of Papyrus (Cyperus Papyrus L.) Sheets

In the present work, sheets of Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus L.), manufactured by lamination from strips pre-treated with different treatments, were evaluated for their technological and fungal infestation properties (Aspergillus flavus AFl375, A. niger Ani245 and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Cgl311). The results showed that the highest values of tensile strength, tear strength, burst index and double-fold number were observed in papyrus sheets produced from strips treated with nano-cellulose (0.25%), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO 10%), Tylose (0.25%) and nano-cellulose (0.5%), with values of 98.90 N·m/g, 2343.67 mN·m(2)/g, 1162 kpa·m(2)/g and 8.33, respectively. The percentage of brightness ranged from 49.7% (strips treated with KOH 2% + 100 mL NaClO) to 9.6% (strips treated with Eucalyptus camaldulensis bark extract 2%), while the percentage of darkness ranged from 99.86% (strips treated with Salix babylonica leaf extract 2% or E. camaldulensis bark extract 0.5%) to 67.26% (strips treated with NaOH (2%) + 100 mL NaClO). From the SEM examination, sheets produced from treated strips with extracts from P. rigida and E. camaldulensis or S. babylonica showed no growths of A. flavus and C. gloeosporioides. Additionally, other pre-treatments, such as Nano-cellulose+Tylose 0.5% (1:1 v/v) and Tylose 0.5%, were also found to have no growth of A. niger. In conclusion, strips pre-treated with nanomaterials and extracts were enhanced in terms of the technological and antifungal properties of produced Papyrus sheets, respectively.