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Article
Introduction
The close interaction of local
communities with the forests and various
products is the vital reason for the
continued survival of forests. The invention
of Indigo, the most important Indian
Natural dye is as old as textile making itself.
History reveals that Chinese have recorded
the use of dyestuff even before 2600BC
1
.
Herbal dyes were used to colour clothing
or other textiles but by mid 1800, chemists
began producing synthetic substitutes for
them. By early 20th century only a small
percentage of textile dyes were extracted
from plants. Lately, there has been
S. B. Gokhale, A. U. Tatiya, S. R. Bakliwal and R. A. Fursule*
R. C. Patel College of Pharmacy
Shirpur, Dist. Dhule - 425405, India
*Correspondent author: 40, Saraswati Colony, Shirpur, Dist. Dhule- 425405 (M.S.) India
E-mail: rafursule@rediffmail.com
Natural dye yielding plants in India
Abstract
Every herb can be used to make dye. Herbal dyes being natural tend to
be softer and their range of tones is very pleasant. At present total market of
herbal dyes is to the tune of US $ 1 billion and is growing tremendously at the rate
of 12%per annum. Per capita consumption of dyes is 400g to 15 kg in developed
and underdeveloped countries for their utility in paints, inks, textiles, polymers,
etc. India is a major exporter of herbal dyes mostly due to ban on production of
some of the synthetic dyes and intermediates in the developed countries due to
pollution problem. Nature has gifted us more than 500 colour yielding plants.
The present paper is an aid to a collective enquiry into the Indian dye yielding
plants, their parts and chemical constituents.
Keywords: Dye yielding plants, India, Mordants, Chemical constituents.
IPC code; Int. cl.
7
C09B61/00
increasing interest in herbal dyes, as
consumers have become aware of
ecological and environmental problems
related to the use of synthetic dyes
2
.
The most common herbal parts
used for extracting dyes are seeds, flowers,
leaves, berries, stems, barks and roots.
Some parts may have more than one
colour depending upon which part of the
plant is used. The shade of colour, a plant
produces will vary according to season at
which the plant is picked, how it was
grown, soil conditions, etc
3
. The dyeing
process based on herbal resources
includes three major steps, first being the
extraction of colouring matter from the
plant part, second is creating a bond
between the colouring matter and the fibre
to be dyed and the last is actual dyeing.
The colour extraction is done usually by
powdering the material then boiling it in
water for 10-20 minutes. The yarn or
fabric to be dyed is first washed well then
heated in the extract at different
temperatures normally for about 30-40
minutes.
The creation of a bond between
the colouring matter and fibre is called
mordanting i. e. a pre-dyeing process that
makes the fibre receptive to dye. Mordant
is a chemical that when cooked with
fibres attaches itself to the fibre molecules.
A dye molecule attaches itself to the
mordant. Herbal dyes require mordant,
which are metallic salts of aluminium,
iron, chromium, copper and others, for
ensuring the reasonable fastness of the
colour to sunlight and also washing. The
vessel that is used for dyeing itself is
serving as a mordant. The dyers use
copper tin vessels to brighten the colour
and iron vat to dull the colour. To obtain
basic original colour of the colouring
materials, earthen or stainless steel pots
are advisable.
Herbal dyes are best with natural
fibers such as cotton, linen, wool, silk,
jute, ramie and sisal
3
. Cotton dyeing needs
a complex series of pre-treatment before
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Article
it absorbs any dye other than indigo with
which it bonds naturally. On the other
hand wool or silk fibres take the colouring
matter quite easily.
Herbal dyes are classified
4
on the
basis of their chemical structure where
grouping within each structure class is
done according to Hue. The broad classes
are: Flavones (Yellow and brown) -
90% of all yellow dyes are flavonoids. The
fastness of these yellow dyes is greatly
affected by the mordant and the
Table: List of dye yielding plants in India
6-25
Botanical name & Family Parts used Colouring Uses and
components colour with mordant
Acacia catechu Willd. Wood Catechin, Dyeing cotton, silk and in calico printing
var. sundra Train Catechin red (Reddish brown)
(Mimosaceae)
Acacia nilotica (Linn.) Bark and Pods Catechin Dyeing textiles, (Light yellow) Alum,
Delile syn. A. arabica Willd. (Yellowish brown) Copper sulphate,
(Mimosaceae) (Dark gray) Ferric sulphate,
Calico printing (Reddish brown)
Adenanthera pavonina Wood Robinetin, Chalcones, Used in dyeing cotton clothes (Red)
Linn. (Mimosaceae) Butein, Amelopsin
Adhatoda vasica Nees Leaves 2-pyridyl methyl amine Alum (Yellow), Copper sulphate
(Acanthaceae) (Light yellow), Ferrous sulphate (Gray)
Aegle marmelos Correa Rind of the fruit Marmalosin In calico printing (Reddish)
ex Roxb. (Rutaceae)
Alnus glutinosa (Linn.) Bark Tannins and Used in dyeing to deepen the colour of
Gaertn. (Betulaceae) Anthraquinones Rubia cordifolia, Ferrous sulphate
(Black)
Alpinia galanga Willd. Root, Stalk Galangin, Dioxyflavonol In calico printing, Myrobalans
(Zingiberaceae) (Yellow-brown)
Althaea rosea Cav. Flowers Anthocyanin, Altheanin, Indicator in Acidic and Alkalimetry
(Malvaceae) Althaein (Red dye)
photosensitivity of the chromophores;
Iso-Quinoline (Yellow) - the only basic
dyestuff known from nature; Chromene
(Orange yellow); Napthoquines (Brown
and purple grey) - although an array of
napthoquinones occur in nature, only a
few are important as dyes; and
Anthraquinones (Red) - over 95% of
the known natural red dyes fall into this
category. Anthraquinone dyes surpass all
other classes of dyes in their fastness
properties; Benzophyrones (Purple and
black); Indigoids (Blue) - an unusually
small molecule produces this stable blue
colour in a vat process; Vegetable
tannins (Neutrals)-gallotannins,
ellagitannins, catechol tannins. All tannins
have a large, heavy molecular structure
which reacts readily with metallic salts.
A list of commonly used dye
yielding plants is given in the table along
with its parts used, colouring components,
uses and colour with mordants.
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Botanical name & Family Parts used Colouring Uses and
components colour with mordant
Amaranthus hypocondriacus Arial parts Tannins Red Pigment Used to dye food.
Linn. (Amaranthaceae)
Anacardium occidentale Pericarp Phenolic constituents Tan or colour fishing nets. Indelible
Linn. (Anacardiaceae) marking ink (Light red)
Annona reticulata Linn. Fruit, Shoots Catechin Dyeing textiles (Bluish black)
(Annonaceae)
Bauhinia purpurea Linn. Bark Chalcone, Butein For dyeing and tanning (Purple colour)
(Caesalpiniaceae)
Bixa orellana Linn. Pulp (aril) Bixin, Orellin, Methyl Colouring silk and cotton
(Bixaceae) surrounding the seeds Bixin, Beta-carotene, (Orange yellow)
Cryptoxanthine
Bougainvillea glabra Choisy Flower with ivory Quercetin- xyloside, (Yellow) Tin, (Brown) Ferrous
(Nyctaginaceae) white bracts Isorhamnetin sulphate + Acid/Neutral (Green) Alum +
Base & Ferrous sulphate + Acid (Orange)
Stannous chloride +Acid, Alum + Base
Butea monosperma (Lam.) Dried flowers Butin, Butein, Butrin, Colouring sarees (Brilliant yellow dye)
Kuntze (Fabaceae) Isobutrin, Palasitrin,
Coreopsin
Butea superba Roxb. Root Glycosides, Butrin, Dyeing
(Fabaceae) Butein
Caesalpinia sappan Linn. Wood and Brazilin, Sappan red Used with alum to yield black colour
(Caesalpiniaceae) Pods (Red dye)
Carthamus tinctorius Linn. Flowers Carthamin (Scarlet red), Dyeing wool, silk and food (Red & Yellow)
(Asteraceae) Carthamon
Cassia fistula Linn. Bark and Sapwood Leucoanthocynidins (Red)
(Caesalpiniaceae)
Cassia tora Linn. Seeds Rubrofusarin Dyeing and tanning (Blue)
(Caesalpiniaceae)
Casuarina equisetifolia Forst. Bark Casuarin As mordant (Light reddish)
(Casuarinaceae)
Ceriops tagal (Perr.) Bark Procyanidins (Black, Brown or Purple) With Indigo
C. B. Robins.(Rhizophoraceae)
Chrozophora tinctoria Herb Turnsole Dyeing wool, silk and cotton (Light green)
Hook. f. (Euphorbiaceae)
Chukrasia tabularis Flowers and leaves - Leaves for tanning (Red & Yellow)
A. Juss. (Meliaceae)
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Botanical name & Family Parts used Colouring Uses and
components colour with mordant
Commelina benghalensis Juice of the flower - Pigment for painting on transparencies
Linn. (Commelinaceae) (Blue)
Convallaria majalis Linn. Leaves and stalk Convallatoxoloside (Green) Ferrous sulphate
(Liliaceae) (Flavonoid)
Curcuma longa Linn. Rhizome Curcuminoids, Dyeing
(Zingiberaceae) Curcumin
Curcuma zedoaria Rosc. Rhizome Curcumin, Arabins, In the preparation of Abir powder (Yellow)
(Zingiberaceae) Albuminoids
Dipterocarpus spp. Bark Oleanolic acid (Light brown) Alum (Brown) Copper
(Dipterocarpaceae) sulphate (Gray)Ferrous sulphate
Haematoxylon campechianum Heartwood Haematoxylin Manufacturing of ink and dyeing woolen
Linn. (Caesalpiniaceae) and silk goods
Impatiens balsamina Linn. Flower Monoglycosidic (Brown) Alum, (Orange)Tin
(Balsaminaceae) anthocyanin based on
pelargonidin
Indigofera tinctoria Linn. Green crop Indigotin Dyeing clothes (Blue)
(Fabaceae)
Isatis tinctoria Linn. Leaves Indican Deep black, Dark blue
(Brassicaceae)
Lawsonia alba Linn. Leaves Lawsone Dyeing clothes, staining fingers, hands and
(Lythraceae) dyeing hairs (Brown)
Ligustrum vulgare Linn. Mature berries Flavonoids (Blue) Alum and Iron
(Oleaceae) after frost
Madhuca indica J. F. Gmel. Bark Quercetin, Dyeing (Reddish-yellow)
(Sapotaceae) Dihydroquercetin
Mallotus philippensis Fruits Rottlerin, Isorottlerin Dyeing silk (Red)
Muell.- Arg. (Euphorbiaceae)
Mangifera indica Linn. Bark and Leaves Mangiferin Mordant and dyeing silk (Yellow)
(Anacardiaceae)
Morinda citrifolia Linn. Root bark Morindone Dyeing (Dull red)
(Rubiaceae)
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Flower Nyctanthin, Iridoid Chrome (Yellow)
Linn. (Oleaceae) glycoside
Nymphaea alba Linn. Rhizome Tannins and Myricetrin Blue
(Nymphaceae) flavonoids glycosides
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Botanical name & Family Parts used Colouring Uses and
components colour with mordant
Prunus persica Batsch. Leaves, Root bark Tannins and Leucoantho- Colouring cotton fabrics
(Rosaceae) cyanin
Pterocarpus marsupium Bark Epicatechin Dyeing silk (Brownish red)
Roxb. (Fabaceae)
Punica granatum Linn. Fruit rind Flavogallol (Mustard Gray) Alum and ferric sulphate
(Punicaceae)
Quercus infectoria Olivier Gall nuts Gallotannic acid (Light Yellow) Alum, (Yellow) Copper
(Fagaceae) sulphate, (Dark Gray) Ferric sulphate
Rubia cordifolia Linn. Stem, Root Manjistin, Purpurin Dyeing coarse cotton fabrics (Reddish
(Rubiaceae) Brown), (Light Pink)Alum, (Light Brown)
Copper sulphate, (Reddish Gray)Ferric
sulphate
Rubia tinctorum Linn. Wood, Root Alizarin and Purpurin Depending on mordant it gives red, pink,
(Rubiaceae) Anthraquinine derivatives orange and lilac and brown. (Red)Alum
Rubus fructicosus Linn. Berries Carotene (Brown) Iron
(Rosaceae)
Tagetes erecta Linn. and Flower Petulitrin (flavonoid (Yellow) Chrome
glycoside)
T. patula Linn. (Asteraceae) Xanthophyll Cyanidine (Brown) Chrome
Terminalia arjuna Bark Arjunic acid Light Brown
(Roxb.)Wight & Arn.
(Combretaceae)
Terminalia chebula Retz. Fruits Chebulinic acid (Yellow) Alum, (Camel Yellow) Copper
(Combretaceae) sulphate, (Dark Gray)Ferrous sulphate
Tectona grandis Linn. f. Leaves Tectoleafquinone Dyeing silk (Yellow), (Yellow) Olive
(Verbenaceae)
Urtica dioica Linn. Leaves Chlorophyll (Green) Alum
(Urticaceae)
Ventilago madraspatana Root and Ventilagin Colouring cotton and Tassar silk(Chocolate)
Gaertn. (Rhamnaceae) Bark
Woodfordia fruticosa Leaves and Lawsone (2-hydroxy Dyeing
Kurz (Lythraceae) Flower naphthoquinone) (Pink or Red)
Wrightia tinctoria Seeds and Indigo yielding As an adjuvant in dyeing
R. Br. (Apocynaceae) Leaves glucoside (Blue dye)
Ziziphus jujuba Mill. Fruit Carotene, Tannins Mordant in dyeing silk
(Rhamnaceae) (Reddish pink)
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In addition to above list many
other plants have been evaluated by
various researchers for their dye yielding
6. Develop a full spectrum of quality
herbal dye extract along with the best
application technology and ecological
process.
7. Develop necessary technology to apply
herbal dyes for wood, floral, leather,
cosmetics, paper, and personal care
products.
8. Launch a global marketing strategy to
educate the consumers on the
economic, ecological aesthetic and
social advantages of herbal dyes.
India figures prominently in this
equation because of lower labour cost,
constant supply of raw materials to extract
herbal dyes and tradition to use herbal
dyes.
References
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Conclusion
Natural dyes are now-a-days in
demand not only in textile industry but in
cosmetics, leather, food and
pharmaceuticals. The rich biodiversity of
our country has provided us a plenty of
raw materials yet a sustainable linkages
must be developed between the
cultivation, collection and their use.
Specifically the recommen-
dations for increasing herbal dyes market
share include:
1. Proper documentation of traditional
practices, users, suppliers of raw
materials and potential national and
international markets.
2. Exploration and research on new
resources should continue.
3. Improvement in plant yield and dye
concentration of targeted botanicals
should be done by biotechnological
techniques.
4. Establishment of long-term
sustainability and dye yielding
substances by commercial cultivation
of wild sources.
5. Increase technical ratings, lower the
cost and improve reproducibility for
the textile market.
Natural Product Radiance Vol 3(4) J uly-August 2004 234
Article
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The scientists at Dr. R.E. Wrolstad, Department of Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University, 100 Wiegand
Hall, Corvallis, USA evaluated red radish (Raphanus sativus Linn.) cultivars with respect to qualitative and quantitative
anthocyanin (ACN) pigment content.
During experiment radishes were grown at 2 locations and harvested at 2 maturity stages. Pigment content was
dependant on cultivar, root weight and location. Spring cultivars (n=22) had pigmentation in the skin, ranging from 39.3 to
185 mg ACN/100g skin. Red-fleshed Winter cultivars (n=5) had pigment content ranging from 12.2 to 53 mg ACN/100g root.
ACN profiles were similar for different cultivars, the major pigments being pelargonidin-3-sophoroside-5-glucoside, mono- or
di-acylated with cinnamic and malonic acids; individual proportions varied among cultivars. Estimated pigment yields ranged
from 1.3 to 14 kg/ha [Giusti et al, J Food Sci, 1998, 63(2), 219-224].
Red radish cultivars as potential food colorants