Water hyacinth is an aquatic weed species that grows rapidly. In particular, it causes negative impacts on the aquatic environment and ecological system. However, water hyacinth is rich in cellulose, which is a biodegradable material. This study isolated cellulose from the water hyacinth petiole. It was then used to fabricate composite hydrogels made with water hyacinth cellulose (C), alginate (A), and pectin (P) at different mass ratios. The selected water hyacinth cellulose-based hydrogel was incorporated with quercetin, and its properties were evaluated. The FTIR and XRD of extracted water hyacinth cellulose indicated specific characteristics of cellulose. The hydrogel which consisted of the water hyacinth cellulose alginate characterized pectin: pectin had a mass ratio of 2.5:0.5:0.5 (C2.5A0.5P0.5), showed good puncture strength (2.16 ± 0.14 N/mm2), the highest swelling index (173.28 ± 4.94%), and gel content (39.35 ± 0.53%). The FTIR showed an interaction between water hyacinth cellulose and quercetin with hydrogen bonding. The C2.5A0.5P0.5 hydrogel containing quercetin possessed 92.07 ± 5.77% of quercetin-loaded efficiency. It also exhibited good antibacterial activity against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa due to hydrogel properties, and no toxicity to human cells. This study indicated that water hyacinth cellulose-composited hydrogel is suitable for topical antibacterial applications.
Keywords: antibacterial; cellulose; hydrogel; quercetin; water hyacinth.