Abstract

Preservation of animal skin using common salt is widely followed globally and has been in vogue since time immemorial. Salt used for preservation is discharged along with the soak liquor and contributes to 70% of TDS load from leather manufacturing. As an attempt to reduce chloride and TDS, plant based preservation with Tamarindus indica was studied. Different concentrations of salt and Tamarind leaf extract were applied on freshly-flayed goatskins based on its green weight and compared with control (40% salt alone/kg of skin wt.). Sensory evaluation of the preserved skin was done every day (till 21st day) for smell, hair slip and putrefaction. The samples were collected on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 14th and 21st day and tests such as moisture content, total nitrogen content, protein content, hydroxyproline content and microbial load for finding out the curing efficiency. Skin those were preserved for 21 days were processed into leather and the leather and properties were examined. The result showed that 15% salt with 15% Tamarindus indica and 10% salt with 15% Tamarindus indica (Test) showed good preservation systems.