Article Natural dye yielding plants in India 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: [email protected] Abstract plant part, second is creating a bond between the colouring matter and the fibre to be dyed and the last is actual dyeing. Every herb can be used to make dye. Herbal dyes being natural tend to The colour extraction is done usually by be softer and their range of tones is very pleasant. At present total market of powdering the material then boiling it in herbal dyes is to the tune of US $ 1 billion and is growing tremendously at the rate water for 10-20 minutes. The yarn or of 12%per annum. Per capita consumption of dyes is 400g to 15 kg in developed fabric to be dyed is first washed well then and underdeveloped countries for their utility in paints, inks, textiles, polymers, heated in the extract at different etc. India is a major exporter of herbal dyes mostly due to ban on production of temperatures normally for about 30-40 some of the synthetic dyes and intermediates in the developed countries due to minutes. pollution problem. Nature has gifted us more than 500 colour yielding plants. The creation of a bond between The present paper is an aid to a collective enquiry into the Indian dye yielding the colouring matter and fibre is called plants, their parts and chemical constituents. mordanting i. e. a pre-dyeing process that Keywords: Dye yielding plants, India, Mordants, Chemical constituents. makes the fibre receptive to dye. Mordant is a chemical that when ‘cooked’ with IPC code; Int. cl. 7 ⎯ C09B61/00 fibres attaches itself to the fibre molecules. A dye molecule attaches itself to the Introduction increasing interest in herbal dyes, as mordant. Herbal dyes require mordant, consumers have become aware of which are metallic salts of aluminium, The close interaction of local ecological and environmental problems iron, chromium, copper and others, for communities with the forests and various related to the use of synthetic dyes2. ensuring the reasonable fastness of the products is the vital reason for the The most common herbal parts colour to sunlight and also washing. The continued survival of forests. The invention used for extracting dyes are seeds, flowers, vessel that is used for dyeing itself is of Indigo, the most important Indian leaves, berries, stems, barks and roots. serving as a mordant. The dyers use Natural dye is as old as textile making itself. Some parts may have more than one copper tin vessels to brighten the colour History reveals that Chinese have recorded colour depending upon which part of the and iron vat to dull the colour. To obtain the use of dyestuff even before 2600BC1. plant is used. The shade of colour, a plant basic original colour of the colouring Herbal dyes were used to colour clothing produces will vary according to season at materials, earthen or stainless steel pots or other textiles but by mid 1800, chemists which the plant is picked, how it was are advisable. began producing synthetic substitutes for grown, soil conditions, etc3. The dyeing Herbal dyes are best with natural them. By early 20th century only a small process based on herbal resources fibers such as cotton, linen, wool, silk, percentage of textile dyes were extracted includes three major steps, first being the jute, ramie and sisal3. Cotton dyeing needs from plants. Lately, there has been extraction of colouring matter from the a complex series of pre-treatment before 228 Natural Product Radiance Vol 3(4) July-August 2004 Article it absorbs any dye other than indigo with photosensitivity of the chromophores; black); Indigoids (Blue) - an unusually which it bonds naturally. On the other Iso-Quinoline (Yellow) - the only basic small molecule produces this stable blue hand wool or silk fibres take the colouring dyestuff known from nature; Chromene colour in a vat process; Vegetable matter quite easily. (Orange yellow); Napthoquines (Brown tannins (Neutrals)-gallotannins, Herbal dyes are classified4 on the and purple grey) - although an array of ellagitannins, catechol tannins. All tannins basis of their chemical structure where napthoquinones occur in nature, only a have a large, heavy molecular structure grouping within each structure class is few are important as dyes; and which reacts readily with metallic salts. done according to Hue. The broad classes Anthraquinones (Red) - over 95% of A list of commonly used dye are: Flavones (Yellow and brown) - the known natural red dyes fall into this yielding plants is given in the table along 90% of all yellow dyes are flavonoids. The category. Anthraquinone dyes surpass all with its parts used, colouring components, fastness of these yellow dyes is greatly other classes of dyes in their fastness uses and colour with mordants. affected by the mordant and the properties; Benzophyrones (Purple and 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) Natural Product Radiance Vol 3(4) July-August 2004 229 Article 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) 230 Natural Product Radiance Vol 3(4) July-August 2004 Article 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