Indian Journal or Fibre & Textile Rest'arch

Vol. 27, Dece mbe r 2002, pp. 429-433

Isolation of colour component from the roots of Morinda angustifolia
Roxb. and evaluation of its dyeing characteri stics
R Bhuyan , D C Saikia & C N Saikia"
Regional Research Laboratory, Jorhat 785006, India
Receil'!' d 5 Jllly 2001; ac('clJl cd 5 SeplcllliJn 2001
The colour component in the roots or the plant JII/orinda all gll.l'Ii/(I/ia has been isolated and it s chemi cal struct ure
establ ished on the basis or c he mi cal and spectroscopic studi es. The dyei ng properties or colour cOlll ponem have been
evaluat ed on cotton and sil k rabrics with and wit hout the use or morda nts. The yiel d or colour component vari es rrom 10%
to 20.9% depe nding on du ration 0(' extraction (30-240 Illin). Fair to good rast ness propert ies arc obtained on rabrics when
dyed with 3"/" or colour componcnt at 2% or mordams.
Keywords: Cott on rabri c, Dyeing, Mordant s, Morillrla (Il1gll .l'Ii/(I/ia, Si lk rabri c
1 Introduction
During the recent years, pri orit y has been gi ven to
the use 01' environment all y accept abl e col ours in
dyeing and pri nting i ndustri es and as such the dye
industry has turned it s att enti on to such products
whi ch cater to the en vi ronmental spec ifi cati ons. Some
of the manu fact uring processes of syntheti c dyes
invol ve many tox ic and non-ecofri endl y chemicals
and the di sposal of the byproducts formed in such
manufact uring processes has become problem to the
industry. Moreover, some of the synthet i c dyes have
already been recogni zed to have carcinogeni c effects.
All thi s have led to the revi val of i nterest i n the non-
tox ic and ecofriendly natural dyes
t
.". Natural dyes are
mostly derived from plants. insects and mi neral s. The
plant Morinc/o ongllsfi/o/ia i s a small deciduous shrub
belonging to the Rubi acea family and found in the
eastern Himal ayas and many other states of I ndia up
to an al titude of 1800 m (refs 3 & 4). The roots of the
plant are used for extract i ng colouring matters. I t i s
also used as condi ment. The wood and l eaves of
Mor indu species are reported to have innumerable
medi ci nal uses as purgati ve, antisepti c and al so i n
asth ma and dysentery types of ail lllcnts
5
The root
contains mainl y a yell ow dye. However, the literature
on ex ti'<\ction of thi s yell ow dye and its dyeing
characteristi cs i s scanty. The present invest igati on
was, therefore, ai med at i sol ati ng and identi fy ing the
"To whom all the correspondcnce should be addressed.
Phone: 3370 I:! I : Fax: 0091-0376-33700 II :
E- mail : drrlj t@c. ir.res.i n
col our components in the roots and st udying the
dyeing characteri stics of colour component on collon
and mulberry sil k fabri cs wi th and wi thout the use of
mordants.
2 Materials and Methods
2. 1 Ma terials
Fresh roots of Mor i nc/o OI1[;lISI(jC)/io were coll ected
from a forest near Jorhat ( Indi a) during the winter
scason, f inely washed wit h tap water, dried, crushed
and f ina!l y ground to f ine powder in a Wi ley mill .
Pl ain weave scoured and bl eached Mul berry silk
and cotton fabrics were used for the dyeing
ex peri ments.
Mordants such as copper sulphate, potassi um
di chromate, sta:1 nous chloride and alum were used.
Ethanol , petroleum ether and benzene were used ror
the ext racti on of col ouring component and n-hexane
and ethyl acetate as eluents. Si li ca gel (60- 120 mesh)
was used as adsorbent. All these chemicals were of
pure grades.
2.2 Methods
2. 2, I Isolatioll 01' Colour Component and it s Characterizat ion
The root powder was extracted wi th ethanol i n a
sox hl et apparatus ror 10 h. The ethanol was then
rcmoved under reduced pressure to get a soli d mass
whi ch was then successi vel y extracted with petroleum
ether and bemene. The benzene extract was then
passed through a col umn of sili ca gel (60-120 mesh)
and cluted wi th n-hexane : ethyl acetate (30: I ). The
430
INDIAN J. FIBRE TEXT. RES. , DECEMBER 2002
compound was then crystalli zed as orange colour
needles from methanol.
Infrared (lR) spectra of the above isol ated
compound was recorded on a Perkin Elmer
Spectrophotometer (Model 580B) using KBr di sk
technique in the range of 4000-200 em-I. The
ultraviolet/visible (uv/ vis) absorpti on spectra of the
compound was recorded on a Shimadzu 1601 PC UV/
Vi s Spectrophotometer using methanol in the range of
200-800 nm. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
spectra of the compound was recorded on a EM 360 L
(60 MHz) NMR spectrophotometer using DMSO-d
6
in the range of 0-10 o. The melting point of the
compound was recorded on a Buchi e melting point
apparatus.
2.2.2 Preparation of Derivatives
Tri acetate and benzoyl deri vati ves of the
compound were prepared by reacting aceti c anhydride
and benzoyl chl oride respecti vely in the presence of
pyridine and the products were re-crystalli zed from
ethanol
6
.
2.2.3 Extraction of Colour Component with Water for Dyeing
The ground materi al ( I OOg) was extracted with
water ( 1000 ml ) at boiling temperature for different
intervals of time (30-240 min) .
2.2.4 Mordanting
Pre- and post- mordanting methods using 2%
soluti ons each of CuS04. 5H20 , K2Cr20 7, SnCb.2H
2
0
and AI(NH
4
)(S0 4h.1 2H
2
0 were empl oyed at the
material-to- liquor rati o of 1 : 10. The fabri cs were
mordanted for 30 min at boil, washed and then dri ed.
2.2.5 Dyeing
The fabri cs were dyed in a dye bath containing 3%
dye at a materi al-to-liquor rati o of I : 10. The dyeing
was carried out at boiling temperature for 2 h after
whi ch 2% sodium chl oride soluti on (owm) was added
to the dye bath and the contents were further kept at
the same temperature for 15 min. The fabri c was then
washed thoroughl y with di still ed water and then dri ed
at room temperature.
2.2.6 Evaluation of Fastness Properties
Colour fastness tests to li ght, washing and crocking
were carri ed out in a Fad-O-meter, Launder-O-meter
and Crock-O-meter respectively as per the standard
methods
7
.
2.2.7 Optical Density and Colour Strength Measurement
Opti cal density of the dye solutions (1 -5%) and the
col our strength (KlS) values of both the dyed and
mordanted samples were measured by li ght
refl ectance technique using the Shimadzu 1601 PC
UV/ Vi s Spectrophotometer. The KIS values were
assessed using the Kubelka- Munk equat ion
R
:
KIS = [(l_R)2/ 2R]
where R is the observed refl ectance; K, the absorpti on
coeffici ent; and S, the li ght scattering coefficient.
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 Characterization of Colour Component
The colour component as isol ated from the benzene
extract shows melting point of 280e. The compound
shows UV /Vi s absorpti on at 446, 299, 291 , 265. 5 and
232 nm and gives a positi ve Borntregar reacti on, a
characteri sti c for an anthraquinone
Y
Thus, the
compound is identifi ed as having an anthraquinone
group.
The IR spectra of the compound show
characteri sti c peaks at 3400 cm-
I
for - OH group, 2890
and 1400 cm-
I
for -CH3 group, and 1600 cm-
I
for
unchelated carbonyl group. So also the NMR spectra
of the compound displ ay signal for a methyl (-CH3)
group at 2.290. Further, the compound also shows
four ortho coupl ed doubl ets at 7.49, 7.73, 7. 17 and
8.070 for one proton each at positions H- 3, H-4, H-7
and H-8 respecti vely.
The above characteri sti cs of the colour compound
are found to be simi lar with that of the compound
isolated from Morinda citrifolia and chemi call y may
be represented as 1,2,5- trihydroxy-G-methyl-9, 1O-
anthraquinone
'o
.
Further, the colour component gives a purpl e
col our with methanoli c magnesium acetate
Tabl e I- Effect of extracti on time at boil ing on yield of dye
Boiling time Yi e ld Colour
min %
30 10.0 Pale brown
SO I 1. 5 Pale brown
70 12.1 Pale brown
90 15.2 Pale brown
120 16.6 Dark brown
ISO 18.2 Dark brown
180 20.5 Dark brown
2 10 20.6 Dark brown
240 20.9 Dark brown
BHUYAN el al.: ISOLATION OF COLOUR COMPONENT FROM MORINDA ANGUSTlFOLlA
431
Table 2- Dyeing properties of natural dye extracted from Morinda angll.l"1ijolia Roxb.
Mordant Mordanting Fabric Light Crock fastness Wash Shade on fabr ic
technique fastness Wet Dry fastness
Nil Cott on 3 3 4 4 Pale pink
Silk 3 4 5 5 Golden brown
CuS04.5H20 Cotton 5 4 5 5 Dark brown
Silk 5 5 6 5 Chocolate brown
II Cotton 4 4 6 4 Brown
Silk 5 4 5 5 Dark brown
K2
Cr20 7
Cotton 5 4 6 5 Light pink
Si lk 5 4 5 5 Golden brown
II Colt on 3 4 6 4 Light brown
Silk 5 4 5 5 Golden brown
SnCI
2
2H
2
O Cott on 4 3 5 4 Yell owish brown
Silk 4 4 5 4 Ye ll owish brown
II Cott on 4 3 4 5 Yellowi sh brown
Silk 4 3 4 5 Yellowi sh brown
AI(NH4)(S04h 12H
2
O Cotton 4 4 5 5 Pale pink
Silk 4 4 5 4 Golden brown
II Cott on 4 4 5 5 Pal e pink
Silk 4 3 5 5 Golden brown
I- Pre- mordanting: andll - Post - mordanting
Fastness rating: I - Very poor, 2- Poor, 3- Fair. 4- Vcry fa ir, 5 - Good. and 6 - Very good
[Mg(OCOCH
3
hl and viol et colour with cone. H
2
S0
4
.
These reactions also indi cate that the compound is
morindone, which could easily be converted into
tri acetate and benzoy l derivatives in the presence of
pyridine with characteri sti c properti es
6
.
3.2 EITect of Ext raction Conditions on Dye Yield
Whil e extracting the dye in water, it is observed
that with the increase in duration of extraction at
boiling temperature, the yield of the dye increases but
the rate of increase decreases after 180 min of
extract ion (Table I).
3.3 En'ect of Oyeing Conditions
Table 2 shows the dyeing properti es of the col our
compound extracted from Morinda angustiJolia on
unmordant ed and mordanted cotton and mulberry silk
fabrics. It is evident that a wide vari ety of colours
ranging from pale brown, pale yellow and grey to
dark brown, golden brown and yell owish brown could
be obtained from the dye when mordanted with
different mordants. The best colours are obtained with
2% each of K
2
Cr
2
0 7 and CuS04.5H20 because of the
Table 3- 0pti cal dens it y, absorpt ion and KIS values of
diffe rent concentrat ions of dye
Dye conc. 02tical e n s i t ~ Absorption KIS
% Before Aft er % value
dye ing dyeing
0.16 0.14 12.50 9.53
2 0. 17 0.13 23.53 10.28
3 0. 19 0. 13 3 1. 58 11.1 2
4 0. 20 0.15 25.00 12. 64
5 n.22 0.17 22.73 14. 88
maximum absorption and easy formation of metal
complexes with the fibre
l
!.1 2. So also the fair to good
wash and crock fastness properti es are obtained when
mordanted with CuS04.5H20 and K2Cr20 7 (ref. 13).
The fabri c samples show paler shades with fair to
good wash fastness and crock fastness when mor-
danted with SnCi
2
.21-hO and Al(NH.dCS0 4h. 12H
2
0.
3.4 Effect of Dye Concentration on Optical Density, Absorp-
tion and Colour Strength
Table 3 shows that the absorpti on of dye increases
with the increase in concentration of dye and reaches
432
INDI AN J. FIBRE TEXT. RES .. DECEMBER 2002
Table 4 - Effec t of Illordanting techni ques and mordant concentrat ion on colour strcngth
Fabri c Mordant Morci anting Mordant KIS Fabri c Mordant Morda nti ng Mordant KIS
techniquc conc., % lechn ique conc., %
Collon Nil 9.079 Silk Nil 10.267
CuSO.I.5 1-1
2
O 1.0 9. 11 9 1.0 IOA57
1.5 9.399 1. 5 10.527
2. 0 9.6 19 2. 0 10.6 17
2.5 9.968 2.5 10. 826
3.0 10.068 3.0 10.926
II 1. 0 9.279 II 1. 0 10.467
1. 5 9A69 1. 5 10.532
2. 0 9.649 2.0 10.696
2.5 10.028 2.5 10.S76
3.0 10. 128 3.0 10.996
K2
Crl 0 7 1. 0 9.095 K]Cr]07 1. 0 10. 192
1. 5 9.2 i 5 1.5 10.327
2. 0 9.5 14 2.0 IOA67
2. 5 9.8 13 2.5 10.507
3.0 9.968 3.0 10.537
II 1.0 9.369 II 1. 0 10.228
1.5 9AS4 1. 5 10.337
2.0 9.579 2.0 10.507
2.5 9.943 2.5 10.527
3.0 10.013 3.0 10.6 17
SnCI
2
21-1
2
O 1.0 9. 185 SnCi
2
21-1 p 1. 0 10. 162
1.5 9.279 1. 5 10.2g2
2. 0 9.509 2.0 10.397
2.5 9.708 2.5 10.432
3. 0 9.S33 3.0 10.507
II 1.0 9.3 14 II 1. 0 9.529
1. 5 9AI9 1.5 10. 12S
2.0 9.509 2.0 10.292
2.5 9.87X 2.5 10.412
3.0 9.998 3.0 10.477
AI(N I 21-1
2
0 1. 0 8.860 I 21-1
2
0 1. 0 10.Og8
1.5 8.970 1. 5 10.252
2. 0 9.089 2.0 10.342
2.5 9.294 2.5 10.3S7
3.0 9.4 14 3.0 10.5 12
II 1. 0 9. 100 II 1. 0 10. 113
1. 5 9.229 1. 5 10.262
20 9.399 2.0 10. 377
2.5 9.579 2.5 IOA57
3.0 9.678 3.0 10525
- C()I/ Id I- Prc- mordallli ng; and II - Pos:-morda nti ng
BHUYAN et {I I.: ISOLATION OF COLOUR COMPONENT FROM MORINDII ANGUSTlFOLlA
433
maximum at 3% concentration of the dye. Similarly,
the optical density increases with the increase in dye
concentration. It is also evident fro m the above that
the intensity of shades can be altered by using various
mordants. The optimum concentration of each
mordant W3S therefore determined (Table 4). It is
observed that various concentrati ons of the mordants
afford maximum colour strength on each of the
fabrics , parti cul arl y on silk. Although the increase in
concentration shows hi gher K/S value, but beyond 2%
concentration of each of the mordants, the increase in
K/S va lue is not signifi cant. Therefore, 2%
concentrati on of the mordants mi ght be su ffi cient for
thi s type of colour compound. Further, the lower
concentrations of the mordants gi ve pale and i nsi pid
colours, whi Ie the excess i ve amount of mordant
makes the colours dull , resulting in uneven dyeing.
Thi s is especi all y true for CuSO.j. 5H
2
0 .
More or less same colour strengt hs are obtained by
using both post- and pre- mordanting methods with all
the four selected mordants.
4 Conclusion
The colour component isolated from the roots of
IV/orillda allgusl!folia Rox b. is a morindone type of
compound cont aining an anthraquinone group. Silk
and cotton fabri cs can be dyed with thi s colour
component with and without using different mordants
to obtain a wide range of colours with fair to good
wash and li ght fastness. Thus, the dye so extracted
may be an alternative to synthet ic dye for dyeing of
silk and cotton.
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